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THE 


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OF  THE 
UNIVEI«ITY 
OF 


The  Talking  Thrush 

And  Other  Tales  from  India 


"A  Crow  is  a  Crow  for  ever." 


^itsmn^^9^ 


alking)I]kusli 


i 


And   Ot-her  XalcLS    fpom  Jndia 

Collected  ty  WCROOKE 

And    Retold    by 

W-H-DROUSE 

Illustrated  by    0\     WH-hobinson 


i 


New  York :  E.  P.  Dutton  &  Co. 

<S>.«  London:  J.  M.  Dent  &  Sons  Ltd.  °-<&-« 

1922 


i 

i 


First  Published     .     Ocioher  1S99 
Rr:PRiNTED       .  .     J uly  1902;    Octobcf  ig: 


A 11  rights  reserved 

PRINTED    IN    GREAT    BRITAIN 


"-J  3  «<, 


^#^^Mr,ii)////,/^^^ 


Preface 


THE  stories  contained  in  this  little  book  are  only 
a  small  part  of  a  large  collection  of  Indian 
folk-tales,  made  by  Mr.  Crooke  in  the  course 
of  the  Ethnological  Survey  of  the  North-West  Pro- 
vinces and  Oudh.  Some  were  recorded  by  the 
collector  from  the  lips  of  the  jungle-folk  of  Mirzapur ; 
others  by  his  native  assistant,  Pandit  Ramgharfb 
Chaub6.  Besides  these,  a  large  number  were  received 
from  all  parts  of  the  Provinces  in  response  to  a  circu- 
lar issued  by  Mr.  J.  C.  Nesfield,  the  Director  of  Public 
Instruction,  to  all  teachers  of  village  schools. 

The  present  selection  is  confined  to  the  Beast  Stories, 
which  are  particularly  interesting  as  being   mostly  in- 


M649670 


Vlll 


Preface 


digenous  and  little  affected  by  so-called  Aryan  influence. 
Most  of  them  are  new,  or  have  been  published  only 
in  the  North  Indiaji  Notes  and  Queries  (referred  to  as 
NJ.NQ.). 

In  the  re-telling,  for  which  Mr.  Rouse  is  responsible, 
a  number   of  changes  have   been    made.     The   text   of 
the  book  is  meant  for  children,  and  consequently  the 
first  aim  has  been  to  make  an  interesting  story.     Those 
who    study    folk-tales    for    any    scientific    purpose   will 
find   all   such    changes    marked    in   the    Notes.     If  the 
change  is  considerable,  the  original  document  is  sum- 
marised.     It   should   be    added    that    these   documents 
are  merely  brief  Notes  in  themselves,  without 
literary   interest.      The    Notes   also   give 
the  source  of  each  tale,  and  a  few 
obvious    parallels,    or    refer- 
ences to  the  literature 
of  the  subject. 


Contents 


The  Talking  Thrush    . 
The  Rabbit  and  the  Monkey 
The  Sparrow's  Revenge 
The  Judgment  of  the  Jackal 
How  THE  Mouse  got  into  his  Hole 
King  Solomon  and  the  Owl 
The  Camel's  Neck 
The  Quail  and  the  Fowler 
The  King  of  the  Kites 
The  Jackal  and  the  Camel 
The  Wise  Old  Shepherd 
Beware  of  Bad  Company 
The  Foolish  Wolf 


PAGE 

I 

8 

i6 

21 

30 

33 
36 
39 

43 
47 
53 
55 


X  Contents 

PAGE 

Reflected  Glory 58 

The  Cat  and  the  Sparrows 6i 

The  Foolish  Fish 65 

The  Clever  Goat 72 

A  Crow  is  a  Crow  for  Ever 76 

The  Grateful  Goat 8r 

The  Cunning  Jackal  ;  or,  The  Biter  Bit  ...  85 

The  Farmer's  Ass 89 

The  Parrot  Judge 93 

The  Frog  and  the  Snake 97 

Little  Miss  Mouse  and  her  Friends  .        .        .101 

The  Jackal  that  Lost  his  Tail  .....  105 

The  Wily  Tortoise no 

■The  King  of  the  Mice 112 

The  Valiant  Blackbird 117 

The  Goat  and  the  Hog 123 

The  Parrot  and  the  Parson       .        ,        .        .        .127 

The  Lion  and  the  Hare 130 

The  Monkey's  Bargains 132 

The  Monkey's  Rebuke 139 

The  Bull  and  the  Bullfinch 145 

The  Swan  and  the  Crow 150 

•Pride  shall  have  a  Fall 156 

The  Kid  and  the  Tiger 160 

The  Stag,  the  Crow,  and  the  Jackal        .        .        .166 


Contents 


XI 


The  Monkey  and  the  Crows 
The  Swan  and  the  Paddy-bird 
What  is  a  Man?    . 
The  Wound  and  the  Scar   . 
^  The  Cat  and  the  Parrot    . 


PAGE 
170 

176 
182 
186 


NOTES    . 


195 


List  of  Illustrations 


"A  Crow  is  a  Crow  for  Ever"  .        .        Fro7ttisfiece 

PACK 

Title-page v 

Preface  :  Headpiece vii 

Contents  :  Headpiece ix 

„            Tailpiece xi 

The  Talking  Thrush  : 

Initial    .........  i 

The  Rabbit  and  the  Monkey  : 

Initial 8 

Man  with  Bamboo  Pole           .....  9 

"  Sit  in  front  of  that  Man  " 11 

Tailpiece 15 

The  Sparrow's  Revenge  : 

"Up  jumped  the  Boy,  and  out  he  ran  "            .         .  19 

The  Judgment  of  the  Jackal  : 

Initial    .         .         . 21 

"  The  Merchant  was  much  dismayed  "     .         .         .22 

"  And  away  they  went "           .....  23 

How  the  Mouse  got  into  his  Hole  : 

Initial    .........  25 

King  Solomon  and  the  Owl  : 

Initial .  30 

Tailpiece 32 

The  Camel's  Neck  : 

Headpiece 2)Z 

The  Quail  and  the  Fowler  : 

Headpiece      ........  36 

Tailpiece 38 

xiii 
B 


xvi  List  of  Illustrations 

PAGE 

The  Bull  and  the  Bullfinch: 

Initial    .........     145 

Tailpiece 149 

The  Swan  and  the  Crow: 

Initial    .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .150 

**  Hm,  hm,"  said  the  Judge,  looking  at  the  Crow      .     153 
Tailpiece 155 

Pride  shall  have  a  Fall  : 

Initial    .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .156 

Tailpiece        .         .         .         .         .         .         .         '159 

The  Kid  and  the  Tiger  : 

Initial    .         .         .         .         .         •         .         .         .160 

The  Stag,  the  Crow,  and  the  Jackal  : 

Initial .         .166 

Tailpiece        .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .169 

The  Monkey  and  the  Crows  : 

"  O  Monkey,  what  a  fool  you  must  be  ! "          .         .     171 
Tailpiece        .         •         .         .         .         .        .         .172 

The  Swan  and  the  Paddy-bird  : 

Initial 173 

Tailpiece 175 

What  is  a  Man  : 

"  He  espied  an  Elephant " 178 

"  I  am  a  Man,"  said  the  other         .         .         .         .     1 80 

The  Wound  and  the  Scar  : 

Initial 182 

Tailpiece       .         .         .         .         •         .         •         -185 

The  Cat  and  the  Parrot  : 

"The  Cat  said  to  the  Parrot,  Come,  friend"   .         .187 
"An  old  woman  happened  to  be  near"  .         .         .     igi 

Finis 218 


The  Talking  Thrush 


CERTAIN  man  had  a  garden,  and  in  his 
garden  he  sowed  cotton  seeds.  By-and-by 
the  cotton  seeds  grew  up  into  a  cotton 
bush,  with  big  brown  pods  upon  it. 
These  pods  burst  open  when  they  are 
ripe  ;  and  you  can  see  the  fluffy  white 
cotton  bulging  all  white  out  of  the 
pods.  There  was  a  Thrush  in  this  garden,  and  the 
Thrush  thought  within  herself  how  nice  and  soft  the 
cotton  looked.  She  plucked  out  some  of  it  to  line  her 
nest  with  ;  and  never  before  was  her  sleep  so  soft  as 
it  was  on  that  bed  of  cotton. 

Now  this  Thrush  had  a  clever  head  ;  so  she  thought 
something  more  might  be  done  with  cotton  besides  lining 
a  nest.  In  her  flights  abroad  she  used  often  to  pass  by 
the  door  of  a  Cotton- carder.  The  Cotton-carder  had  a 
thing  like  a  bow,  made  of  a  piece  of  wood,  and  a  thong 
of  leather  tying  the  ends  together  into  a  curve.  He 
used  to  take  the  cotton,  and  pile  it  in  a  heap  ;  then 
he  took  the  carding-bow,  and  twang-twang-twanged  it 
among  the  heap  of  cotton,  so  that  the  fibres  or  threads 
of  it  became  disentangled.  Then  he  rolled  it  up  into 
oblong  balls,  and  sold  it  to  other  people,  who  made 
it  into  thread. 


The  Talking  Thrush 


The  Thrush  often  watched  the  Cotton-carder  at  work. 
Every  day  after  dinner,  she  went  to  the  cotton  tree,  and 
plucked  out  a  fluff  of  cotton  in  her  beak  and  hid  it  away. 
She  went  on  doing  this  till  at  last  she  had  quite  a  little 
heap  of  cotton  all  of  her  own.  At  least,  it  was  not  really 
her  own,  because  she  stole  it ;  but  then  you  cannot  get 
policemen  to  take  up  a  Thrush  for  stealing,  and  as  men 
catch  Thrushes  and  put  them  in  a  cage  all  for  nothing,  it 
is  only  fair  the  birds  should  have  their  turn. 

When  the  heap  of  cotton  was  big  enough,  our  Thrush 
flew  to  the  house  of  the  Cotton-carder,  and  sat  down  in 
front  of  him. 

"  Good  day,  Man,"  said  the  Thrush. 

"  Good  day.  Birdie,"  said  the  Cotton-carder.  The 
Thrush  was  not  a  bit  afraid,  because  she  knew  he  was 
a  kind  man,  who  never  caught  little  birds  to  put  them 
in  a  cage.  He  liked  better  to  hear  them  singing  free 
in  the  woods. 

"  Man,"  said  the  Thrush,  "  I  have  a  heap  of  beautiful 
cotton,  and  I'll  tell  you  what.  You  shall  have  half  of 
it,  if  you  will  card  the  rest  and  make  it  up  into  balls 
for  me." 

"That  I  will,"  said  the  man  ;  "where  is  it  ?" 

"  If  you  will  come  with  me,"  said  the  Thrush,  "  I'll 
show  you." 

So  the  Thrush  flew  in  front,  and  the  man  followed 
after,  and  they  came  to  the  place  where  the  hoard  of 
cotton  was  hidden  away.  The  man  took  the  cotton 
home,  and  carded  it,  and  made  it  into  balls.  Half  of 
the  cotton  he  took  for  his  trouble,  and  the  rest  he  gave 
back  to  the  Thrush.  He  was  so  honest  that  he  did  not 
cheat  even  a  bird,  although  he  could  easily  have  done 


The  Talking  Thrush 


so.  For  birds  cannot  count  :  and  if  you  find  a  nest 
full  of  eggs,  and  take  one  or  two,  the  mother-bird  will 
never  miss  them  ;  but  if  you  take  all,  the  bird  is  un- 
happy. 

Not  far  away  from  the  Carder  lived  a  Spinner.  This 
man  used  to  put  a  ball  of  cotton  on  a  stick,  and  then  he 
pulled  out  a  bit  of  the  cotton  without  breaking  it,  and 
tied  it  to  another  little  stick  with  a  weight  on  it.  Then 
he  twisted  the  weight,  and  set  it  a-spinning  ;  and  as  it 
span,  he  held  the  cotton  ball  in  one  hand,  and  pulled 
out  the  cotton  with  the  other,  working  it  between  finger 
and  thumb  to  keep  it  fine.  Thus  the  spindle  went  on 
spinning,  and  the  cotton  went  on  twisting,  until  it  was 
twisted  into  thread.  That  is  why  the  man  was  called  a 
Spinner.  It  looks  very  easy  to  do,  when  you  can  do  it ; 
but  it  is  really  very  hard  to  do  well. 

To  this  Spinner  the  Thrush  came,  and  after  bidding 
him  good  day,  said  she — 

"  Mr.  Spinner,  I  have  some  balls  of  cotton  all  ready 
to  spin  into  thread.  Will  you  spin  one  half  of  them  into 
thread  for  me,  if  I  give  you  the  other  half  ?  " 

"  That  I  will,"  said  Mr.  Spinner ;  and  away  they 
went  to  find  the  cotton  balls.  Thrush  first  and  Spinner 
following. 

In  a  very  few  days  the  Spinner  had  spun  all  the 
cotton  into  the  finest  thread.  Then  he  took  a  pair  of 
scales,  and  weighed  it  into  two  equal  parts  (he  was 
an  honest  man,  too)  :  half  he  kept  for  himself,  and  the 
other  half  he  gave  to  the  Thrush. 

The  next  thing  this  clever  Thrush  did  was  to  fly  to  the 
house  of  a  Weaver.  The  Weaver  used  to  buy  thread,  and 
fasten  a  number  of  threads  to  a  wooden  frame,  called  a 


The  Talking  Thrush 


loom,  which  was  made  of  two  upright  posts,  with  another 
bar  fastened  across  the  top.  The  threads  were  hung  to 
the  cross-bar,  and  a  little  stone  was  tied  to  the  bottom  of 
each,  to  keep  it  steady.  Then  the  Weaver  wound  some 
more  thread  around  a  long  stick  called  a  shuttle  ;  and 
the  shuttle  he  pushed  in  front  of  one  thread  and  behind 
the  next,  until  it  had  gone  right  across  the  whole  of  the 
threads,  in  and  out.  Then  he  pushed  it  back  in  the  same 
way,  and  after  a  bit,  the  upright  threads  and  the  cross- 
threads  were  woven  together  and  made  a  piece  of  cloth. 

The  Thrush  flew  down  to  the  Weaver,  and  they  made 
the  same  bargain  as  before.  The  Weaver  wove  all  the 
thread  into  pieces  of  cloth,  and  half  he  kept  for  himself, 
but  the  other  half  he  returned  to  the  Thrush. 

So  now  the  Thrush  had  some  beautiful  cloth,  and  I 
dare  say  you  wonder  what  she  wanted  it  for.  As  you 
have  not  been  inquisitive,  I  will  tell  you  :  she  wanted 
clothes  to  dress  herself.  The  Thrush  had  noticed  that 
men  and  women  walking  about  wore  clothes,  and  being 
an  ambitious  Thrush,  and  eager  to  rise  in  the  world,  she 
felt  it  would  not  be  proper  to  go  about  without  any 
clothes  on.  So  she  now  went  to  a  Tailor,  and  said  to 
him — 

"Good  Mr.  Tailor,  I  have  some  pieces  of  very  fine 
cloth,  and  I  should  be  much  obliged  if  you  would  make 
a  part  of  it  into  clothes  for  me.  You  shall  have  one  half 
of  the  cloth  for  your  trouble." 

The  Tailor  was  very  glad  of  this  job,  as  times  were 
slack.  So  he  took  the  cloth,  and  at  once  set  to  work. 
Half  of  it  he  made  into  a  beautiful  dress  for  the  Thrush, 
with  a  skirt  and  jacket,  and  sleeves  in  the  latest  fashion ; 
and  as  there  was  a  little  cloth  left  over,  and  he  was  an 


The  Talking  Thrush 


honest  Tailor,  he  made  her  also  a  pretty  little  hat  to 
put  on  her  head. 

Then  the  Thrush  was  indeed  delighted,  and  felt  there 
was  little  more  to  desire  in  the  world.  She  put  on  her 
skirt,  and  her  jacket  with  fashionable  sleeves,  and  the 
little  hat,  and  looked  at  her  image  in  a  river,  and  was 
mightily  pleased  with  herself.  Now  she  became  so 
vain  that  nothing  would  do,  but  she  must  show  herself 
to  the  King. 

So  she  flew  and  flew,  and  away  she  flew,  until  she 
came  to  the  King's  palace.  Into  the  King's  palace  she 
flew,  and  into  the  great  hall  where  the  King  sat  and 
the  Queen  and  all  the  courtiers.  There  was  a  peg  high 
up  on  the  wall,  and  the  Thrush  perched  on  this  peg, 
and  began  to  sing. 

"  Oh,  look  there  !  "  cried  the  Queen,  who  was  the  first 
to  see  this  wonderful  sight — "  see,  a  Thrush  in  a  jacket 
and  skirt  and  a  pretty  hat !  " 

Everybody  looked  at  the  Thrush  singing  on  her  peg, 
and  clapped  their  hands. 

"  Come  here.  Birdie,"  said  the  King,  "  and  show  the 
Queen  your  pretty  clothes." 

The  Thrush  felt  highly  flattered,  and  flew  down  upon 
the  table,  and  took  off  her  jacket  to  show  the  Queen. 
Then  she  flew  back  to  her  peg,  and  watched  to  see  what 
would  happen. 

The  Queen  turned  over  the  jacket  in  her  hand,  and 
laughed.  Then  she  folded  it  up,  and  put  it  in  her 
pocket. 

"  Give  me  my  jacket ! "  twittered  the  Thrush.  "  I 
shall  catch  cold,  and  besides,  it  is  not  proper  for  a  lady 
to  be  seen  without  a  jacket." 


The  Talking  Thrush 


Then  they  all  laughed,  and  the  King  said,  "Come 
here,  Mistress  Thrush,  and  you  shall  have  your  jacket." 

Down  flew  the  Thrush  upon  the  table  again ;  but 
the  King  caught  her,  and  held  her  fast. 

"  Let  me  go  ! "  squeaked  the  Thrush,  struggling  to 
get  free. 

But  the  King  would  not  let  her  go.  I  am  afraid  that 
although  he  was  a  King,  he  was  not  so  honest  as  the 
Carder  or  the  Spinner,  and  cared  less  for  his  word  than 
the  Weaver  and  the  Tailor. 

"Greedy  King,"  said  the  Thrush,  "to  covet  my  little 
jacket ! " 

"  I  covet  more  than  your  jacket,"  said  the  King ;  "  I 
covet  you,  and  I  am  going  to  chop  you  up  into  little 
bits." 

Then  he  began  to  chop  her  up  into  bits.  As  she 
was  being  chopped  up,  the  Thrush  said,  "The  King 
snips  and  cuts  like  a  Tailor,  but  he  is  not  so  honest ! " 

When  the  King  had  finished  chopping  her  up,  he 
began  to  wash  the  pieces.  And  each  piece,  as  he  washed 
it,  called  out,  "  The  King  scours  and  scrubs  like  a 
washerwoman,  but  he  is  not  so  honest  1 " 

Then  the  King  put  the  pieces  of  the  Thrush  into  a 
frying-pan  with  oil,  and  began  to  fry  them.  But  the 
pieces  went  on  calling  out,  "The  King  is  like  a  cook, 
frying  and  sputtering,  but  he  is  not  so  honest ! " 

When  she  was  fried,  the  King  ate  her  up.  From 
within  the  body  of  the  King  still  the  Thrush  kept  calling 
out,  "I  am  inside  the  King!  It  is  just  like  the  inside 
of  any  other  man,  only  not  so  honest ! " 

The  King  became  like  a  walking  musical-box,  and  he 
did  not  like  it  at  all,  but  it  was  his  own  fault.     Wherever 


The  Talking  Thrush 


he  went,  everybody  heard  the  Thrush  crying  out  from 
inside  the  King,  "Just  Hke  any  other  man,  only  not  so 
honest ! "  Everybody  that  heard  this  began  to  despise 
the  King. 

At  last  the  King  could  stand  it  no  longer.  He  sent 
for  his  doctor,  and  said,  "  Doctor,  you  must  cut  this 
talking  bird  out  of  me." 

"Your  majesty  will  die,  if  I  do,"  said  the  Doctor. 
"  I  shall  die  if  you  don't,"  answered  the  King,  "  for  I 
cannot  endure  being  made  a  fool  of." 

So  there  was  nothing  for  it :    the  Doctor  took  his 

knives,  and  made  a  hole  in  the  King,  and  pulled  out  the 

Thrush.     Strange  to  say,  the  pieces  of  the  Thrush  had  all 

joined  together  again,  and  away  she  flew ;  but  her  beautiful 

clothes  were   all  gone.      However,  it  was  a  lesson  she 

never  forgot ;  and  after  that,  she  slept  soft  in  her  nest 

of  cotton,  and  never  again  tried  to  ape  her  betters.     As 

for  the  King,  he  died  ;  and  a  good  riddance  too. 

His  son  became  king  in  his  stead ;  and  all 

life   long  he  remembered  his  father's 

miserable  death,  and  kept  all  his 

promises  to  men,  and  beasts, 

and  birds. 


The  Rabbit  and  the  Monkey 


NCE  upon  a  time,  there  lived  in  the 
mountains  a  Rabbit  and  a  Monkey, 
who  were  great  friends.  One  day, 
as  they  sat  by  the  roadside  hob- 
nobbing together,  who  should  come 
by  but  a  man  with  a  bamboo  pole 
over  his  shoulder,  and  at  each  end 
of  the  pole  was  a  bundle  hung  to  a 
string ;  and  there  were  plantains  in 
one  bundle,  and  sugar  in  the  other. 

Said  the  Monkey  to  the  Rabbit,  "  Friend  of  my 
heart,  do  as  I  shall  tell  you.  Go  and  sit  upon  the 
road  in  front  of  that  man,  and  as  soon  as  he  sees 
you,  run — he  is  sure  to  drop  his  load  and  follow. 
Then  I  will  pick  up  his  load,  and  hide  it  safely ;  and 
when  you  come  back,  we  will  share  it  together." 

No  sooner  said  than  done :  the  Rabbit  ran,  and 
the  man  dropped  his  burden  and  ran  after  him ;  while 
the  Monkey,  who  had  been  hiding  in  the  tall  grass 
by  the  wayside,  pounced  upon  the  sugar  and  the 
plantains,  and  climbed  up  into  a  tree,  and  began  to 
gobble  them  up  at  his  leisure. 

By-and-by  the  man  came  back,  hot  and  empty- 
handed,  and  finding  that  his  goods  were  gone  as  well 

8 


The  Rabbit  and  the  Monkey  9 

as   the    Rabbit,  cursed    loudly,   and  went   home   to    be 
scolded  by  his  wife. 

Soon  the  Rabbit  came  back  too,  and  began  hunting 
about  for  his  friend  the  Monkey.  High  and  low  he 
searched,  and  not  a  trace  could  he  find  ;  till  he  happened 
to  cast  his  eyes  aloft,  and  lo   and   behold,  there  was 


Mr.  Monkey  up  in  a  tree,  munching  away  with  every 
sign  of  enjoyment. 

"Hullo,  friend,"  said  he,  "come  down  out  of 
that." 

"  I'm  very  comfortable  here,  thank  you,"  said  the 
Monkey. 


lo  The   Rabbit  and  the  Monkey 

"  But  where's  my  share  ? "  asked  the  Rabbit  in- 
dignantly. 

"All  gone,  all  gone,"  mumbled  the  Monkey,  and 
pelted  him  with  the  plantain-peel  and  balls  of  paper 
made  out  of  the  packets  where  the  sugar  had  been. 
"  Why  did  you  stay  so  long  ?  I  got  hungry,  and  could 
not  wait  any  longer." 

The  Rabbit  thought  his  friend  was  joking,  and  would 
not  believe  it ;  but  it  was  only  too  true — the  greedy 
creature  had  not  left  a  scrap. 

*'Do  you  really  mean  it  ?"  said  the  poor  Rabbit. 

"  If  you  don't  believe  me,  come  and  see,"  said  the 
Monkey,  and  seizing  the  Rabbit  by  his  long  ears,  he 
hauled  him  up  into  the  tree;  and  after  mocking  him, 
and  making  great  game,  he  left  him  there,  and  went 
away. 

Now  the  Rabbit  was  afraid  to  jump  down  from 
such  a  height,  for  fear  of  breaking  his  neck,  so  up  in 
the  tree  he  remained  for  a  long  time.  Many  animals 
passed  under  the  tree,  but  none  took  pity  on  the 
rabbit,  until  at  last  came  an  old  and  foolish  Rhinoceros, 
who  rubbed  his  withered  hide  against  the  trunk. 

"  Kind  Rhinoceros,"  said  the  Rabbit,  "  let  me  jump 
down  upon  your  back." 

The  Rhinoceros,  being  a  simple  creature,  agreed. 
Down  came  the  Rabbit,  with  such  a  thud,  that  the 
Rhinoceros  fell  on  his  stupid  old  nose,  and  broke  his 
fat  old  neck,  and  died. 

The  Rabbit  ran  away,  and  away  he  ran,  until  he 
came  to  the  King's  palace ;  and  he  hid  under  the  King's 
golden  throne.  By-and-by  in  came  the  King,  and  in 
came  the  court ;  all  the  grandees  stood  around  in  their 


The  Rabbit  and  the  Monkey  13 

golden  robes,  glittering  with  rubies  and  diamonds,  and 
their  swords  were  girt  about  their  waists.  Suddenly 
they  all  heard  a  terrific  sneeze  ! 

Everybody  said,  "  God  bless  you,"  while  the  King 
thundered  out:  "Who  has  the  bad  manners  to  sneeze 
in  the  King's  presence  ? "  Everybody  looked  at  his 
neighbour,  and  wondered  who  did  it.  "Off  with  his 
head,"  shouted  the  King. 

Another  sneeze  came.  This  time,  however,  every- 
body was  on  the  watch,  and  they  noticed  that  the 
sound  came  from  under  the  King's  golden  throne.  So 
they  dived  in,  and  lugged  out  the  Rabbit,  looking  more 
dead  than  alive. 

"All  right,"  said  the  King,  "off  with  his  head."  The 
executioner  ran  to  get  his  sword. 

But  our  friend  the  Rabbit,  for  all  he  was  frightened, 
had  his  wits  about  him  ;  and  sitting  up  on  his  hind- 
legs,  and  putting  his  two  fore-paws  together,  he  said 
respectfully,  "O  great  King,  strike,  but  hear.  If  thou" 
wilt  send  a  score  of  men  with  me,  I  will  give  thee  a 
dead  Rhinoceros." 

The  King  laughed,  the  courtiers  laughed  loud  and 
long.  However,  just  to  see  what  would  come  of  it, 
the  King  gave  him  a  score  of  men. 

The  Rabbit  led  them  to  the  place  where  the  Rhino- 
ceros fell  on  his  stupid  old  nose,  and  there  he  lay 
dead.  With  great  difficulty  the  men  dragged  the 
Rhinoceros  home.  They  were  very  pleased  to  get  a 
Rhinoceros,  because  his  horn  is  good  for  curing 
many  diseases,  and  the  court  physician  ground  his 
horn  into  powder,  and  made  out  of  it  a  most  won- 
derful medicine.  And  the  King  was  so  pleased,  that 
c 


H  The   Rabbit  and  the   Monkey 

he  gave  the  Rabbit  a  fine  new  coat,  and  a  horse  to 
ride  on. 

So  the  Rabbit  put  on  his  fine  coat,  and  got  on  the 
back  of  his  horse,  and  rode  off. 

On  the  way,  who  should  meet  him  but  his  friend 
the  Monkey. 

"Hullo!"  says  the  Monkey,  "where  did  you  get  all 
that  finery?" 

"The  King  gave  it  to  me,"  says  the  Rabbit. 

Says  the  Monkey,  "And  why  should  the  King  give 
all  this  to  a  fool  like  you  ?  " 

The  Rabbit  replied,  "  I,  whom  you  call  a  fool,  got 
it  by  sneezing  under  the  King's  golden  throne  ;  such 
a  lucky  sneeze,  that  the  soothsayers  prophesied  to 
the  King  long  life  and  many  sons  ! "  Then  he  rode 
away. 

The  Monkey  fell  a-thinking  how  nice  it  would  be 
if  he  could  get  a  fine  coat  and  horse  as  the  Rabbit  had 
done.  "  I  can  sneeze,"  thought  he ;  "  what  if  I  try  my 
luck  ?  " 

So  he  scampered  away,  and  away  he  scampered,  till 
he  came  to  the  King's  palace,  and  hid  himself  under  the 
King's  golden  throne.  When  the  King  came  in,  and  all 
his  courtiers,  in  gorgeous  array  as  before,  our  Monkey 
underneath  the  throne  sneezed  in  the  most  auspicious 
manner  he  could  contrive. 

"  Who  is  that  ?  "  thundered  the  King,  glaring  about 
him.  "Who  has  the  bad  manners  to  sneeze  in  the 
King's  presence  ?  " 

They  searched  about  until  they  found  the  Monkey 
hidden  under  the  throne,  and  hauled  him  out. 

"  What  hast  thou,  wily  tree-climber,"  asked  the  King, 


The  Rabbit  and  the  Monkey  15 

"  that   I    should   not   bid   the   executioner   cut   off    thy 
head  ?  " 

The  monkey  had  no  answer  ready.     At  last  he 
said,  "O  King,  I  have  some  plantain- 
peel  and  pellets  of  paper."     But 
the  King  was  angry  at  this, 
and  the  greedy  Monkey 
was  led  away,  and 
his  head  was 
cut  off. 


The  Sparrow's  Revenge 


NCE  there  was  a  pair  of  Sparrows 
that  were  very  fond  of  each  other, 
and  lived  in  a  nest  together  as 
happy  as  the  day  was  long.  The 
hen  laid  eggs  and  sat  upon  them, 
and  the  cock  went  about  picking 
up  food  for  them  both,  and  when 
he  had  got  food  enough,  he  sat 
on  a  twig  close  by  the  nest,  and  twittered  for  joy. 

But  it  happened  one  day  that  a  boy  saw  Cock  Sparrow 
pecking  at  some  seeds,  and  he  picked  up  a  stone  and 
threw  it  at  him,  and  killed  him.  So  no  food  came  home 
that  morning,  and  Hen  Sparrow  grew  anxious,  and  at 
last  set  out  to  find  him. 

In  a  little  while  she  found  his  dead  body  lying  in  a 
ditch.  She  ruffled  up  her  feathers  and  began  to  cry. 
"  Who  can  have  killed  him  ?  "  she  said  ;  "  my  poor  kind 
husband,  who  never  did  harm  to  any  one."  Then  a 
Raven  flew  down  from  a  tree,  where  he  had  been  sitting, 
and  told  her  how  a  cruel  boy  had  thrown  a  stone  at 
him  and  killed  him  for  sport.  He  saw  it,  said  the  Raven, 
as  he  was  sitting  on  the  tree. 

Now  Hen  Sparrow  determined  to  have  her  revenge. 


The  Sparrow's  Revenge  17 

She  was  so  much  troubled  that  she  left  her  eggs  to 
hatch  themselves,  or  to  addle  if  they  would  ;  and  gather- 
ing some  straw,  she  plaited  it  into  a  beautiful  straw 
carriage,  with  two  old  cotton-reels  for  wheels,  and  sticks 
for  the  shafts.  Then  she  went  to  the  hole  of  a  Rat  who 
was  a  friend  of  hers,  and  called  down  the  hole,  "  Mr. 
Rat !  Mr.  Rat !  " 

"  Yes,  Mrs.  Sparrow,"  said  the  Rat,  coming  out  of  the 
hole  and  making  a  polite  bow. 

"Some  one  has  thrown  a  stone  at  my  husband  and 
killed  him.     Will  you  help  me  to  get  my  revenge  ?  " 

"  Why,"  said  the  Rat,  "  how  can  I  help  you  ?  " 

"  By  pulling  me  along  in  my  carriage,"  said  Mrs. 
Sparrow. 

"  Oh  yes,"  said  the  Rat ;  "  that  I  will."  So  he  went 
down  into  his  hole  again,  and  washed  his  face,  and 
combed  his  whiskers,  and  came  up  all  spick  and 
span. 

Mrs.  Sparrow  tied  the  shafts  of  the  straw  carriage 
to  the  Rat,  and  Mrs.  Sparrow  got  in,  and  off  they 
went. 

On  the  road  they  met  a  Scorpion.  Said  the  Scor- 
pion— 

"Whither  away,  Mrs.  Sparrow  and  Mr.  Rat  ?" 

Said  the  Hen  Sparrow,  '•*  My  friend  Mr.  Rat  is  pulling 
me  along  in  my  carriage  of  straw  to  punish  a  cruel  boy 
who  threw  a  stone  at  my  husband  and  killed  him." 

"  Quite  right  too,"  said  the  Scorpion.  "  May  I 
come  and  help  you  ?  I  have  a  beautiful  sting  in  my 
tail." 

"  Oh,  please  do !  come  and  get  in,"  said  the 
Sparrow. 


1 8  The  Sparrow's  Revenge 

In  got  the  Scorpion,  and  away  they  went.  By-and- 
by  they  saw  a  Snake. 

"Good  day,  and  God  bless  you,"  says  the  Snake. 
"  Where  are  you  going,  may  a  mere  reptile  ask  ?  " 

"  Mr.  Scorpion  and  I  are  going  to  punish  a  cruel 
boy  who  threw  a  stone  and  killed  my  husband." 

"  Shall  I  come  and  help  you  ?  "  asked  the  Snake.  "  I 
have  fine  teeth  in  my  head  to  bite  with." 

"The  more  the  merrier,"  replied  Mrs.  Sparrow.  So 
in  he  got.  They  had  not  gone  far  before  who  should 
meet  them  but  a  Wolf. 

"Hullo,"  says  the  Wolf  gruffly;  "where  are  you  off 
to,  I  should  like  to  know  ?  " 

"  Mr.  Rat  is  kind  enough  to  draw  me  in  my  carriage, 
and  we  are  all  going  to  punish  a  cruel  boy  who  threw 
a  stone  and  killed  my  poor  husband." 

"  May  I  come  too  ?  "  growled  the  Wolf.  "  I  can  bite." 
He  opened  his  big  jaws  and  snarled. 

"  Oh,  how  kind  you  are  !  "  said  Mrs.  Sparrow.  "  Do 
come  !  jump  in,  jump  in  !  " 

The  poor  Rat  looked  aghast  at  such  a  load  to  pull ; 
but  he  was  a  gentlemanly  Rat,  and  so,  having  offered  to 
pull  the  carriage,  he  said  nothing. 

So  the  big  Wolf  got  in,  and  nearly  sat  on  the  Scor- 
pion's tail  ;  if  he  had,  he  wouldn't  have  sat  long,  I  think. 
However,  the  Scorpion  got  out  of  the  way,  and  on  they 
went  all  four,  the  poor  Rat  pulling  with  all  his  might, 
but  rather  slow  at   that. 

In  due  time  they  arrived  at  the  cruel  boy's  house. 
His  mother  was  cooking  the  dinner,  and  his  father  was 
fast  asleep  in  a  chair.  There  was  a  river  close  by  the 
house,  and  the  Wolf  went  down  io  the  river,  and   hid 


The   Sparrow's   Revenge  19 

himself  there ;  the  Snake  crawled  among  the  peats,  and 
the  Scorpion  began  to  climb  up  into  the  chair  where 
the  man  was  sleeping. 

Then  Mrs.  Hen  Sparrow  flew  in  at   the   door  and 
twittered — 


"Little  boy!  Little  boy!  There's  a  fish  biting  at 
your  night-line  ! " 

Up  jumped  the  boy,  and  out  he  ran,  to  look  at  the 
night-line.  But  as  he  was  stooping  down  and  looking 
at  the  line  to  see  if  any  fish  were  hooked,  the  Wolf 
pounced  upon  him,  and  bit  him  in  the  throat,  and  he 
died. 

Then  the  cruel  boy's  mother  went  out  to  get  some 


20  The  Sparrow's  Revenge 

peats,  and  as  she  put  her  hand  in  amongst  them,  the 
Snake  bit  her,  and  she  gave  a  shriek  and  fell  down  and 
died.  The  shriek  awoke  her  husband  sleeping  in  his 
chair,  and  he  began  to  get  up,  but  by  this  time  the 
Scorpion  had  cHmbed  up  the  leg  of  the  chair,  so  he 
stung  the  man,  and  the  man  died  too. 

Thus  there  was  an  end  of  the  cruel  boy  who  killed 

a  harmless  Sparrow  for   sport ;  and  though   his  father 

and  mother  had  done  nothing,  yet  they  ought  not  to 

have  had  a  son  so  cruel,  or,  at  least,  they  might  have 

brought  him  up  better.    Anyhow,  die  they  did,  all  three  ; 

and  Mrs.  Hen  Sparrow  was  so  delighted  that  she 

forgot  all  about  her  dead  husband,  and  forgot 

her  eggs  which  were  getting   addled, 

and  went  about  chirruping   until 

she  found   another  husband, 

and   made  another  nest, 

and  (I   am  sorry  to 

say)  lived  happily 

ever  after. 


The  Judgment  of  the  Jackal 


MERCHANT  was  returning 
home  from  a  long  journey, 
riding  upon  a  mule.  As  he 
drew  near  home,  night  overtook 
him;  and  he  was  forced  to  look 
out  for  shelter.  Seeing  a  mill 
by  the  roadside,  he  knocked  at 
the  door. 
"Come  in  !"  said  the  Miller. 

"  May  I  stay  here  for  the  night  ?  "  asked  the  Mer- 
chant. 

"  By  all  means,"  said  the  Miller,  "  if  you  pay  me 
well." 

The  Merchant  thought  this  rather  mean ;  because  in 
those  days  a  stranger  was  made  welcome  everywhere 
without  paying  anything.  However,  he  made  the  best 
of  it,  and  came  in.  The  Miller  led  off  his  mule  to  the 
stable. 

"Please  take  care  of  my  mule,"  said  the  Merchant; 
"  I  have  still  a  long  way  to  go." 

"Oh,"  said  the  Miller,  "your  mule  will  be  all  right," 
Then  he  rubbed  him  down  and  fed  him. 


22 


The  Judgment  of  the  Jackal 

In  the  morning  the  Merchant  asked  for  his  mule. 

"  I  am  very  sorry," 
said  the  Miller;  "he 
must  have  got  loose 
last  night,  and  I  can't 
find  him  anywhere." 

The  Merchant  was 
much  dismayed.  He 
went  out  to  look  for 
himself,  and  there,  to 
be  sure,  was  his  mule, 
tied  by  the  halter  to 
the  mill. 

"  Why,  look  here. 
Miller,"  says  he,  "here 
is  the  mule  !  " 

"Oh  no,"  says  the 
Miller,  "  that  mule  is 
mine." 

"  Yours  ?  "  said  the 
Merchant,getting  angry. 
"  Last  night  your  stable 
was  empty.  And  don't 
you  think  I  know  my 
own  mule  ?  " 

"That  is  mine,"  said 
the  Miller  again ;  "  my 
mill  had  a  young  mule 
in  the  night,  and  that 
is  he  " 

"  The  Merchant  was  much  dismayed." 

The   Merchant  was 
now  very  angry  indeed ;  but  he  could  not  help  himself. 


The  Judgment  of  the  Jackal  23 

as  he  did  not  want  to  fight ;  he  was  a  very  peaceful 
Merchant.     So  he  said — 

"Well,  I  have  no  doubt  it's  all  right;  but  just  to 
satisfy  me,  let  us  ask  the  Rev.  Dr.  Jackal  to  decide 
between  us  ;  and  whatever  he  says  I  will  abide  by." 

"Very  good,"  answered  the  Miller;  and  away  they 
went  to  the  den  of  his  reverence  the  Jackal.     Dr.  Jackal 


was  sitting  with  his  hind  legs  crossed,  and  smoking  a 
hubble-bubble. 

"  Good  morning,  worthy  gentlemen,"  said  the  Jackal ; 
"  how  can  I  serve  you  ?  " 

Said  the  Merchant,  "Last  night,  my  Lord  Judge,  I 
lodged  with  this  Miller  here,  and  he  took  charge  of  my 
mule ;  but  now  he  says  it  has  run  away,  though  I  saw  it 
with  my  own  eyes  tied  by  the  halter  to  his  mill.     He  says 


24  The  Judgment  of  the  Jackal 

that  the  mule  I  saw  is  his,  and  that  his  mill  is  the 
mother  of  it,  and  that  it  was  born  last  night  while  I 
was  asleep." 

"Go  back  to  the  mill,"  said  the  Jackal,  "and  wait 
for  me.  I  will  just  wash  my  face,  and  then  I'll  settle 
your  business." 

They  went  away,  and  waited  a  long  time,  but  no 
Jackal.  Late  in  the  afternoon,  they  got  tired  of  waiting 
for  the  Jackal,  and  determined  to  go  and  look  for  him. 
There  he  was  still,  sitting  in  his  den  and  smoking  a 
hubble-bubble, 

"Why  didn't  you  come?"  asked  the  Miller.  "We 
have  been  waiting  for  you  all  day." 

"Oh,  my  dear  sir,  I  was  too  busy,"  said  the  Jackal. 
"When  I  went  to  wash  my  face,  I  found  that  all  the 
water  had  caught  fire ;  I  have  only  just  put  it  out." 

"  You  must  be  mad,  your  reverence,"  said  the  Miller. 
"Who  ever  heard  of  water  catching  lire  ?  " 

"And  who  ever  heard,"  replied  the  Jackal,  "of  a 
mill  having  a  young  mule  ? " 

The  Miller  saw  that  he  was  found  out,  and  was  so 
much  ashamed  that  he  gave  back  the  mule  to 
its  owner,  and  the  Merchant 
went  home. 


How  the  Mouse  got  into 
his  Hole 


■'"  '^  '  MERCHANT  was  going  along 
the  road  one  day  with  a  sack 
of  peas  on  the  back  of  an  Ox. 
The  Ox  was  stung  by  a  Fly, 
and  gave  a  kick,  and  down  fell 
the  sack.  A  Mouse  was  passing 
by,  and  the  Merchant  said, 
"  Mousie,  if  you  will  help  me 
up  with  this  sack  I  will  give  you  a  pea."  The  Mouse 
helped  him  up  with  the  sack  and  got  a  pea  for  his 
trouble.  He  stole  another,  and  a  third  he  found  on 
the  road. 

When  he  got  home  with  his  three  peas  he  planted 
them  in  front  of  his  hole.  As  he  was  planting  them  he 
said  to  them,  "  If  you  are  not  all  three  sprouting  by  to- 
morrow I'll  cut  you  in  pieces  and  give  you  to  the  black 
Ox."  The  peas  were  terribly  frightened,  and  the  next 
morning  they  had  already  begun  to  sprout,  and  each  of 
them  had  two  shoots.  Then  he  said,  "If  I  don't  find 
you  in  blossom  to-morrow   I'll  cut  you   in  pieces  and 


26  The  Mouse  in  his  Hole 

give  you  to  the  black  Ox."  When  he  went  to  look  next 
day  they  were  all  in  blossom.  So  he  said,  "  If  I  don't 
find  ripe  peas  on  you  to-morrow  I'll  cut  you  in  pieces 
and  give  you  to  the  black  Ox."  Next  day  they  had 
pods  full  of  ripe  peas  on  them. 

So  every  day  he  used  to  eat  lots  of  peas,  and  in 
this  manner  he  got  very  fat.  One  day  a  pretty  young 
lady  Mouse  came  to  see  him. 

"  Good  morning,  Sleekie,"  said  she  ;  "  how  are  you  ?  " 

"Good  morning,  Squeakie,"  said  he  ;  "I'm  quite  well, 
thank  you." 

"Why,  Sleekie,"  said  she,  "how  fat  you  are." 

"  Am  I  ?  "  said  he.  "  I  suppose  that's  because  I  have 
plenty  to  eat." 

"  What  do  you  eat,  Sleekie  ?  "  asked  the  pretty  young 
lady  Mouse. 

"  Peas,  Squeakie,"  said  the  other. 

"  Where  do  you  get  them,  Sleekie  ?  " 

"They  grow  all  of  themselves  in  my  garden,  Squeakie." 

"  Will  you  give  me  some,  please  ?  "  asked  the  lady 
Mouse. 

"  Oh  yes,  if  you  will  stay  in  my  garden,  you  may  have 
as  many  as  you  like." 

So  Squeakie  stayed  in  Sleekie's  garden,  and  they 
both  ate  so  many  peas  that  they  got  fatter  and  fatter 
every  day. 

One  day  Squeakie  said  to  Sleekie,  "  Let's  try  which 
can  get  into  the  hole  quickest."  Squeakie  was  slim,  and 
she  had  not  been  at  the  peas  so  long  as  Sleekie,  so  she 
got  into  the  hole  easily  enough  ;  but  Sleekie  was  so  fat 
that  he  could  not  get  in  at  all. 

He  was  very  much  frightened,  and  went  off  in  hot 


The  Mouse  in  his  Hole  27 

haste  to  the  Carpenter,  and  said  to  him,  "Carpenter, 
please  pare  off  a  Httle  flesh  from  my  ribs,  so  that  I  can 
get  into  my  hole." 

"Do  you  think  I  have  nothing  better  to  do  than 
paring  down  your  ribs  ? "  said  the  Carpenter  angrily, 
and  went  on  with  his  work. 

The  Mouse  went  to  the  King,  and  said,  "  O  King,  I 
can't  get  into  my  hole,  and  the  Carpenter  will  not  pare 
down  my  ribs  ;  will  you  make  him  do  it  ?  " 

"  Get  out,"  said  the  King ;  "  do  you  think  I  have 
nothing  better  to  do  than  look  after  your  ribs  ?  " 

So  the  Mouse  went  to  the  Queen.  Said  he,  "  Queen, 
I  can't  get  into  my  hole,  and  the  King  won't  tell  the 
Carpenter  to  pare  down  my  ribs.     Please  divorce  him." 

"  Bother  you  and  your  ribs,"  said  the  Queen  ;  "  I  am 
not  going  to  divorce  my  husband  because  you  have 
made  yourself  fat  by  eating  too  much." 

The  Mouse  went  to  the  Snake.  "  Snake,  bite  the 
Queen,  and  tell  her  to  divorce  the  King,  because  he  will 
not  tell  the  Carpenter  to  pare  my  ribs  down  and  let  me 
get  into  my  hole." 

"Get  away,"  said  the  Snake;  "or  I'll  swallow  you 
up,  ribs  and  all ;  the  fatter  you  are,  the  better  I  shall 
be  pleased." 

He  went  to  the  Stick,  and  said,  "Stick,  beat  the 
Snake,  because  she  won't  bite  the  Queen,  who  won't 
divorce  the  King  and  make  him  tell  the  Carpenter  to 
pare  down  my  ribs,  and  let  me  get  into  my  hole." 

"Off  with  you,"  said  the  Stick  ;  "  I'm  sleepy,  because 
I  have  just  beaten  a  thief ;  I  can't  be  worried  about 
your  ribs." 

He  went  to  the  Furnace,  and  said,  "  Furnace,  burn 


28  The  Mouse  in  his  Hole 

the  Stick,  and  make  it  beat  the  Snake,  that  he  may  bite 
the  Queen  and  make  her  divorce  the  King,  who  won't 
tell  the  Carpenter  to  pare  down  my  ribs,  and  let  me  get 
into  my  hole." 

"  Get  along  with  you,"  said  the  Furnace ;  "  I  am 
cooking  the  King's  dinner,  and  I  have  no  time  now  to 
see  about  your  ribs." 

He  went  to  the  Ocean,  and  said,  "  Ocean,  put  out 
the  Fire,  and  make  it  burn  the  Stick,  so  that  it  may  beat 
the  Snake,  and  the  Snake  may  bite  the  Queen,  and  she 
may  divorce  the  King,  who  won't  tell  the  Carpenter  to 
pare  down  my  ribs,  and  let  me  get  into  my  hole." 

"  Don't  bother  me,"  said  the  Ocean  ;  "  it's  high  tide, 
and  all  the  fishes  are  jumping  about,  and  giving  me 
no  rest." 

He  went  to  the  Elephant,  and  said,  "O  Elephant, 
drink  up  the  Ocean,  that  it  may  put  out  the  Fire,  and 
the  Fire  may  burn  the  Stick,  and  the  Stick  may  beat  the 
Snake,  and  the  Snake  may  bite  the  Queen,  and  the 
Queen  may  divorce  the  King,  and  make  him  tell  the 
Carpenter  to  pare  down  my  ribs,  and  let  me  get  into 
my  hole." 

"  Go  away,  little  Mouse,"  said  the  Elephant ;  "  I  have 
just  drunk  up  a  whole  lake,  and  I  really  can't  drink  any 
more." 

He  went  to  the  Creeper,  and  said,  "  Dear  Creeper, 
do  please  choke  the  Elephant,  that  he  may  drink  up  the 
Ocean,  and  the  Ocean  may  put  out  the  Fire,  and  the  Fire 
may  burn  the  Stick,  and  the  Stick  may  beat  the  Snake, 
and  the  Snake  may  bite  the  Queen,  and  the  Queen  may 
divorce  the  King,  and  the  King  may  tell  the  Carpenter 
to  pare  down  my  ribs,  and  let  me  get  into  my  hole." 


The  Mouse  in  his  Hole  29 

"Not  I,"  says  the  Creeper;  "I  am  stuck  fast  here 
to  this  tree,  and  I  couldn't  get  away  to  please  a  fat  Httle 
Mouse." 

Then  he  went  to  the  Scythe,  and  said,  "  Scythe, 
please  cut  loose  the  Creeper,  that  it  may  choke  the 
Elephant,  and  the  Elephant  may  drink  up  the  Ocean, 
and  the  Ocean  may  put  out  the  Fire,  and  the  Fire  may 
burn  the  Stick,  and  the  Stick  may  beat  the  Snake,  and 
the  Snake  may  bite  the  Queen,  and  the  Queen  may 
divorce  the  King,  and  the  King  may  tell  the  Carpenter 
to  pare  down  my  ribs,  and  let  me  get  into  my  hole." 

"With  pleasure,"  said  the  Scythe,  who  is  always 
sharp. 

So  the  Scythe  cut  the  Creeper  loose,  and  the  Creeper 

began  to  choke  the  Elephant,  and  the  Elephant  ran  off 

and  began  to  drink  up  the  Ocean,  and  the  Ocean  began 

to  put  out  the  Fire,  and  the  Fire  began  to  burn  the 

Stick,  and  the  Stick  began  to  beat  the  Snake,  and 

the  Snake  began  to  bite  the  Queen,  and  the 

Queen  told  the  King  she  was  going  to 

divorce  him,  and  the    King  was 

frightened,   and   ordered    the 

Carpenter  to  pare  Sleekie's 

ribs,  and  at  last  Sleekie 

got  into  his  hole. 


King  Solomon  and  the  Owl 


NCE  King  Solomon  was  hunting  all  alone 
in  the  forest.  Night  fell,  and  King 
Solomon  lay  down  under  a  tree  to  sleep. 
Over  his  head,  on  the  branch  of  a  tree, 
sat  a  huge  Owl ;  and  the  Owl  hooted  so 
loud  and  so  long,  Too-whit  too-woo  I 
Too-whit  too-woo !  that  Solomon  could 
not  sleep.     Solomon  looked  up  at  the  Owl,  and  said — 

"Tell  me,  O  Owl,  why  do  you  hoot  all  night  long 
upon  the  trees  ?  " 
Said  the  Owl— 

•^  I  lioot  to  waken  those  that  sleep, 
As  soon  as  day's  first  beams  do  peep  ; 
That  they  may  rise,  and  say  their  prayers, 
And  not  be  caught  in  this  world's  cares." 

Then  he  went  on  again,  Too-whit !  too-woo  !  shaking 
his  solemn  old  head  to  and  fro.  He  was  a  melancholy 
Owl ;  I  think  he  must  have  been  crossed  in  love. 

Solomon  thought  this  Owl  very  clever  to  roll  out  beau- 
tiful poetry  like  that,  off-hand  as  it  were.  He  asked  the 
Owl  again — 

"  Tell  me,  O  wise  Owl,  why  do  you  shake  your  very 
solemn  old  head  ?  " 


King  Solomon  and  the  Owl  31 

Said  the  Owl— 

"  I  shake  my  head,  to  let  all  know 
This  world  is  but  a  fleeting  show. 
Men's  days  are  flying  with  quick  wings  ; 
So  take  no  joy  in  earthly  things. 

"  Yet  men  will  fix  their  hearts  below 
Upon  the  pleasures  that  must  go. 
Their  joy  is  gone  when  they  are  dead  ; 
And  that  is  why  I  shake  my  head." 

This  touched  King  Solomon  in  a  tender  place,  for  he 
was  himself  rather  fond  of  earthly  delights.  He  sighed, 
and  asked  again — 

"  O  most  ancient  and  wise  Owl  1  tell  me  why  you 
never  eat  grain  ?  " 

Answered  the  Owl — 

"  The  bearded  grain  I  do  not  eat, 
Because,  when  Adam  ate  some  wheat, 
He  was  turned  out  of  Paradise  : 
So  Adam's  sin  has  made  me  wise. 

"  If  I  should  eat  a  single  grain. 
The  joys  of  heaven  I  should  not  gain. 
And  so,  to  keep  my  erring  feet, 
The  bearded  grain  I  never  eat." 

Thought  Solomon  to  himself,  "  I  don't  remember 
reading  that  story  in  Genesis,  but  perhaps  he  is  right. 
I  must  look  it  up  when  I  get  home."  Then  he  spoke 
to  the  Owl  once  more,  and  said — 

"  And  now,  good  Owl,  tell  me  why  you  drink  no 
water  at  night  ?  " 

Said  the  Owl— 

"  Since  water  all  the  world  did  drown 
In  Noah's  day,  I  will  drink  none. 
Were  I  to  drink  a  single  drop. 
My  life  would  then  most  likely  stop." 


32  K^ii^g  Solomon  and  the  Owl 

Solomon  was  delighted  to  find  the  Owl  so  wise.  "  O 
my  Owl,"  said  he,  "  all  my  life  long  I  have  been  looking 
for  a  counsellor  who  had  reasons  to  give  for  what  he 
did  ;  I  have  never  found  one  until  I  found  you.  Now 
I  beg  you  to  come  home  with  me  to-morrow,  and  you 
shall  be  my  chief  counsellor,  and  whatever  I  purpose  I 
will  first  ask  your  advice." 

The  Owl  was  equally  delighted,  and  said,  **  Thank 

you."     Thinking  of  the  greatness  that  was 

to  be  his,  the  Owl  stopped  crying 

Too-whit !  too-woo  !  and 

Solomon  went 

to  sleep. 


e  Camel's    \     / 
Neck  f 


/^NCE  upon  a  time  there  was  a 
very  religious  Camel ;  at  least,  he 
was  religious  after  the  fashion  of  his 
country,  that  is,  he  used  to  mortify  his 
flesh  by  fasting,  and  scratch  himself 
with  thorns,  and  lie  awake  all  night 
meditating  upon  the  emptiness  of  the 
world.  That  is  what  men  used  to  do 
in  that  country,  in  order  to  please  their 
gods.  One  of  these  gods  was  very  much 
pleased  with  the  piety  of  the  Camel ;  so 
one  night,  as  the  Camel  was  fasting,  and 
saying  over  and  over  to  himself,  "Vanity 
of   vanities,    all    is    vanity,"    the    god 


34  The  Camel's  Neck 

appeared  before  him.  He  was  a  curious-looking  god, 
and  he  had  four  hands  instead  of  two  ;  but  the  Camel 
did  not  mind  that,  nor  did  he  laugh  ;  on  the  contrary, 
he  went  down  on  his  knees  and  bowed  before  him. 

"O  Camel,"  said  this  god,  "I  have  seen  your  fasting 
and  heard  your  prayers ;  and  I  have  come  to  reward 
you.     Choose  what  boon  you  like,  and  it  shall  be  yours." 

"O  mighty  god,  I  should  like  to  have  a  neck  eight 
miles  long," 

The  god  answered,  "  Be  it  so  ! "  and  immediately  the 
Camel  felt  his  neck  shooting  out  like  a  telescope,  until  it 
was  eight  miles  long.  It  shot  out  so  fast,  that  the  Camel 
found  it  hard  to  escape  running  his  head  against  the 
trees.  However,  he  steered  it  successfully,  barring  a 
bump  or  two ;  and  as  by  the  time  his  neck  stopped 
growing  he  was  far  out  of  sight  of  the  god,  he  could 
not  even  say  thank  you. 

Now  perhaps  you  will  wonder  why  this  Camel  wanted 
a  neck  so  long  as  eight  miles  ?  I  will  tell  you.  The 
reason  was,  that  for  all  his  fastings  and  penances,  he  was 
a  lazy  Camel,  and  he  wanted  to  graze  without  the  trouble 
of  walking  about.  And  now  he  could  easily  graze  for 
a  distance  of  eight  miles  all  round  in  a  circle,  without 
moving  from  the  spot  where  he  lay.  But  it  was  rather 
dangerous,  though  he  thought  nothing  of  that ;  for  when 
his  head  was  grazing  a  few  miles  away,  the  hunters 
might  stick  a  spear  into  his  body,  or  tie  his  legs  together, 
without  his  seeing  them. 

All  the  summer  the  Camel  had  a  fine  time  of  it ;  he 
lay  still  and  comfortable  and  sent  his  head  foraging 
around,  and  strange  to  say,  no  harm  happened  to  him. 
But  before  long  the  rainy  season  began.  In  the  rainy 
season  there  are  storms  every  day,  and  it  rains  cats  and 


The  Camel's  Neck  35 

dogs.  So  when  the  rain  began,  the  Camel  wanted  to 
keep  dry,  but  he  could  not  at  first  find  a  shed  or  a  shelter 
eight  miles  long,  or  anything  like  it.  At  last  he  lit  on  a 
long  winding  cave  that  held  most  of  his  long  neck.  So 
he  ran  his  neck  into  the  cave,  and  lay  still,  with  the  rain 
pouring  upon  his  body. 

This  was  bad  enough,  but  worse  was  to  come.  For 
it  happened  that  in  this  cave  lived  a  He-jackal  and  a 
She-jackal. 

When  the  Jackals  saw  this  extraordinary  neck  wind- 
ing along  their  cave,  they  were  frightened,  and  hid  away. 

"What  is  this  snake?"  said  the  He-jackal  to  his 
wife. 

"  Oh  dear,  I  don't  know  ! "  whimpered  his  wife,  "  I 
never  saw  a  snake  like  this." 

They  kept  quiet,  the  head  passed  out  of  view  into  the 
inner  part  of  the  cave  ;  then  after  a  while,  the  creature 
lay  still. 

"  Let  us  smell  him  ! "  said  the  He-jackal. 

They  smelt  him.  "  He  smells  nice,"  said  the  She- 
jackal  ;  "not  a  bit  like  a  snake." 

"  Let  us  taste  him  !  "  said  the  He-jackal. 

They  took  a  bite  ;  the  Camel  stirred  restlessly.  They 
took  another  bite,  and  liked  that  better  still.  They  went 
on  biting.  The  Camel  curled  round  his  head  to  see  what 
was  going  on  ;  but  before  the  Camel's  head  could  get 
back  more  than  a  mile  or  two,  he  grew  so  weak  from 
loss  of  blood,  that  he  could  move  no  more,  and  he  died. 

So  died  the  idle  Camel,  because  the  god  granted  him 
his  foolish  wish.  Perhaps  our  wishes  are  often  just  as 
foolish,  if  we  only  knew  it ;  and  perhaps  if  they  were 
fulfilled  they  would  be  the  bane  of  us,  as  happened  to 
the  lazy  and  religious  Camel. 


The  Quail  and  the  Fowler 


FOWLER  once  caught  a  Quail. 

Said  the  Quail  to  the  Fowler — 

"  O  Fowler,  I  know  four  things 

that  will  be  useful  for  you  to  know." 

"What  are  they?"  asked  the 

Fowler. 

"  Well,"  said  the  Quail,  "  I  don't 

mind  telling  you  three  of  them  now. 

The  first  is  :  Fast  caught,  fast  keep ;  never  let  a  thing 

go  when  once  you  have  got  it.     The  second  is  :  He  is 

a  fool  that  believes  everything  he  hears.     And  the  third 

is  this  :  It's  of  no  use  crying  over  spilt  milk." 

36 


The  Quail  and  the   Fowler  37 

The  Fowler  thought  these  very  sensible  maxims. 
"And  what  is  the  fourth  ?  "  he  asked. 

"Ah,"  said  the  Quail,  "you  must  set  me  free  if  you 
want  to  hear  the  fourth." 

The  Fowler,  who  was  a  simple  fellow,  set  the  Quail 
free.     The  Quail  fluttered  up  into  a  tree,  and  said — 

"  I  see  you  take  no  notice  of  what  I  tell  you.  Fast 
caught,  fast  keep,  I  said ;  and  yet  you  have  let 
me  go." 

"Why,  so  I  have,"  said  the  Fowler,  and  scratched 
his  head.  He  was  a  foolish  Fowler,  I  think.  "Well, 
never  mind  ;  what  is  the  fourth  thing  ?  You  promised 
to  tell  me,  and  I  am  sure  an  honourable  Quail  will  never 
break  his  word." 

"The  fourth  thing  I  have  to  tell  you  is  this:  In  my 
inside  is  a  beautiful  diamond,  weighing  ten  pounds. 
And  if  you  had  not  let  me  go,  you  would  have  had  that 
diamond,  and  you  need  never  have  done  any  more  work 
in  all  your  life." 

"  Oh  dear,  oh  dear,  what  a  fool  I  am  ! "  cried  the 
Fowler.  He  fell  on  his  face,  and  clutched  at  the  grass, 
and  began  to  cry. 

"Ha,  ha,  ha!"  laughed  the  Quail.  "He  is  a  fool 
who  believes  everything  he  hears." 

"  Eh  ?  what  ?  "  said  the  Fowler,  and  stopped  crying. 

"  Do  you  think  a  little  carcase  like  mine  can  hold 
a  diamond  as  big  as  your  head  ? "  asked  the  Quail, 
roaring  with  laughter.  "And  even  if  it  were  true, 
Where's  the  use  of  crying  over  spilt  milk  ? " 

The  Quail  spread  his  wings.  "Good-bye,"  said 
he ;  "  better  luck  next  time,  Fowler."  And  he  flew 
away. 


38 


The  Quail  and  the  Fowler 


The  Fowler  sat  up.     ''Well,"  said  he,  "that's  true, 

sure   enough."     He   got  up  and  brushed  the  mud  off 

his  clothes.     "If  I  have  lost  a  Quail,"  said  he, 

"  I've  learnt  something."     And  he  went 

home,  a  sadder  but  a 

wiser  man. 


The  King  of  the  Kites 


MOUSE  one  day  met  a  Frog,  whom  he  knew 
very  well ;  but  the  Frog  turned  up  his  flat 
nose,  and  would  not  speak  to  him. 

"  Friend  Frog,"  said  the    Mouse,  "  why  are 
you  so  proud  to-day  ?  " 

"  Because  I  am  King  of  the  Kites,"  said 
Froggie. 
You  must  not  suppose  that  this  means  a  paper  kite 
with  a  tail.  There  is  a  kind  of  bird  called  a  Kite ;  it 
is  like  a  Hawk,  only  bigger.  How  absurd  it  was  of 
this  Frog,  who  could  not  even  fly,  to  call  himself  the 
King  of  the  Kites  !  And  the  Mouse  was  just  as  absurd, 
for  he  answered — 

**  Stufif  and  nonsense  !  I  am  King  of  the  Kites  ! " 
I  don't  know  whether  they  really  believed  this  them- 
selves, or  whether  they  were  only  trying  to  show  off. 
Anyhow,  both  stuck  to  it  stoutly,  and  a  pretty  quarrel 
was  the  result.  The  Mouse  grew  red  in  the  face  ;  and 
as  for  Froggie,  he  was  nearly  bursting  with  rage. 

At  last  they  agreed  to  refer  the  decision  to  a  council. 
The  council  was  made  up  of  a  Bat,  a  Squirrel,  and  a 
Parrot,  The  Parrot  took  the  chair,  because  he  was  the 
biggest,  and  also  because  he  could  talk  most,  and 
was  therefore  thought  to  be  wise. 


40  The  King  of  the  Kites 

"  I  vote  for  the  Mouse,"  said  the  Bat ;  not  that  he 
knew  anything  about  it,  but  you  see  a  Bat  is  very  hke 
a  Mouse,  and  he  wanted  to  stand  up  for  the  family. 

"And  I,"  said  the  Squirrel,  "vote  for  my  friend 
Froggie."  He  knew  nothing  about  it  either,  but  he 
wanted  to  show  that  even  a  Squirrel  has  an  opinion  of 
his  own. 

So  it  fell  to  the  Parrot  to  give  the  casting  vote,  and 
decide  the  matter.  He  took  a  long  time  to  decide, 
about  two  hours ;  and  while  he  was  thinking,  and  the 
others  were  all  intent  to  hear  what  he  should  say,  down 
from  the  sky  swooped  a  Kite ;  and  the  Kite  stuck  one 
claw  into  the  Mouse's  back,  and  one  claw  into  the  Frog, 
and  carried  them  both  away  to  his  nest,  and  ate  them 
for  dinner. 

So  that  was  the  end  of  the  two  Kings  of  the  Kites. 

The  other  three  creatures,  in  a  great  fright, 

made  themselves  scarce,  lest  the 

Kite  should  come  back  and 

eat  them  too. 


^ 


The  Jackal  and  the  Camel 


NCE  a  Camel  was  grazing  in  a 
forest.  He  had  a  ring  in  his  nose, 
as  the  custom  is,  and  to  the  ring 
was  tied  a  string,  by  which  the 
Camel's  master  used  to  lead  him 
about.  As  the  Camel  grazed,  this 
leading-string  became  entangled 
in  a  bush,  and  the  Camel  could 
not  get  it  loose.  This  misfortune  so  much  confused 
the  mind  of  the  Camel  that  he  did  not  know  what 
to  do. 

Suddenly,  as  the  Camel  was  struggling  to  get  free 
from  the  bush,  a  Jackal  appeared. 

"  Brother  Jackal,"  said  the  Camel,  "  do  please  set 
me  free  from  this  bush." 

"  Brother  Camel,"  said  the  Jackal,  "  I  will  set  you 
free,  only  you  must  pay  me  for  it.  Do  not  the  wise 
say,  '  Even  a  brother  will  not  serve  thee  for  nothing '  ?  " 

"  What  shall  I  pay  you,  brother  Jackal  ?  I  am  a 
very  poor  Camel." 

"You  shall  pay  me,"  quoth  the  Jackal,  "a  pound  of 
your  flesh." 

This  was  a  hard  condition,  but  there  was  nothing 
for  it.     "  Better  to  lose  a  pound  of  my  flesh,"  thought  the 


44  The  Jackal  and  the  Camel 

Camel,  "  than  lose  my  life."  So  he  agreed  to  pay  the 
Jackal  a  pound  of  flesh. 

Then  the  Jackal  set  the  Camel  free,  and  the  Camel 
sat  down  on  the  ground  and  said — 

"  I  am  ready  ;  take  your  pound  of  flesh." 

"Open  your  mouth,  then,"  said  the  Jackal. 

"Why  ?"  asked  the  Camel. 

"  Because  I  choose  to  take  my  pound  of  fiesh  from 
your  tongue." 

This  was  a  terrible  blow.  The  Camel  could  not 
agree,  because  he  knew  that  if  his  tongue  were  torn 
out,  he  was  bound  to  die. 

So  he  said,  "  I  did  not  promise  you  my  tongue." 

"You  did,"  said  the  Jackal. 

"Don't  tell  lies,"  said  the  Camel;  "where  are  your 
witnesses  ?  " 

Away  trotted  the  Jackal  to  find  a  witness.  First  he 
asked  the  Lion  if  he  would  bear  witness  that  he  heard 
the  Camel  promise  to  give  his  tongue.  He  promised 
to  give  him  the  half  of  all  he  should  get,  as  a 
reward. 

"  Go  away,"  said  the  King  of  Beasts  ;  "  I  am  a  Lion, 
not  a  liar." 

Then  he  asked  the  Tiger,  but  the  Tiger  said — 

"  I  don't  care  for  Camel's  meat,  so  it  isn't  worth  my 
while." 

And  so  the  Jackal  tried  one  beast  after  another,  but 
none  of  them  would  help  him,  until  he  came  to  the 
Wolf. 

"Friend  Wolf,"  said  the  Jackal,  '*if  you  will  only 
swear  that  you  heard  the  Camel  promise  me  his  tongue, 
you  shall  have  half." 


The  Jackal  and  the  Camel  45 

"Half  a  tongue?"  quoth  the  Wolf;  "that's  poor 
provender." 

"No,  no,"  said  the  Jackal,  "half  the  Camel.  Don't 
you  see  that  if  we  tear  out  his  tongue,  the  Camel  will 
soon  bleed  to  death." 

"  True,  so  he  will,"  said  the  Wolf.     "  Well,  I  agree." 

So  the  Wolf  and  the  Jackal  went  back  to  the  Camel, 
and  the  Wolf  said,  raising  his  right  forepaw  to  heaven — 

"  I  swear  by  heaven  that  I  heard  this  Camel  promise 
to  give  his  tongue  to  this  Jackal." 

Of  course  this  was  a  lie,  and  they  all  knew  it ;  but 
the  Camel  did  not  like  to  appear  mean,  and  besides, 
they  were  two  to  one. 

"  Very  well,"  said  the  Camel ;  "  come  and  take  it." 
The  Camel  opened  his  mouth  wide.  The  Jackal  put 
his  head  in  the  Camel's  mouth,  and  as  he  did  so,  the 
Camel  curled  his  tongue  backward,  so  that  the  Jackal 
could  not  reach  it. 

The  Jackal  pulled  his  head  out  again,  and  said  to 
the  Wolf— 

"  My  mouth  is  too  small,  you  try  now — you  have 
a  big  gape." 

Then  the  Wolf  put  his  head  in  the  Camel's  mouth. 
The  Camel  curled  his  tongue  back  and  back,  and  the 
Wolf  pushed  in  his  head  further  and  further ;  at  last 
all  the  Wolf's  head  was  inside.  Then  the  Camel  snapped 
his  jaws  together  upon  the  Wolf's  neck. 

"O  Daddy  Camel,"  said  the  Wolf,  half  throttled; 
"  what  is  this  ?  " 

"This,"  said  the  Jackal,  rolling  up  the  whites  of  his 
eyes  to  the  sky  in  a  most  pious  fashion;  "this  is  the 
result  of  telling  a  lie."     The  Camel  said  nothing  at  all, 

E 


46  The  Jackal  and  the  Camel 

but  simply  throttled  the  Wolf  to  death,  and  the  Jackal 
ran  away. 

I  think  you  will  agree  with  me,  that  the  Jackal,  who 

made  the  Wolf  tell  a  lie,  was  wickeder  than  the  Wolf 

who  told  it ;  but  yet  he  laughed  at  the  Wolf,  and 

got  off  himself  scot-free.     That  often  happens 

in  this  world  ;  but  we  will  hope  that  some 

other  time  his  sin  was  bound  to 

find  him  out. 


W^U* "      » 


The  Wise  Old  Shepherd 


NCE  upon  a  time,  a  snake  went  out 
of  his  hole  to  take  an  airing.  He 
crawled  about,  greatly  enjoying  the 
scenery  and  the  fresh  whiff  of  the 
breeze,  until,  seeing  an  open  door, 
he  went  in.  Now  this  door  was  the 
door  of  the  palace  of  the  King,  and 
inside  was  the  King  himself,  with  all 
his  courtiers. 

Imagine  their  horror  at  seeing  a 
huge  Snake  crawling  in  at  the  door. 
They  all  ran  away  except  the  King,  who  felt  that  his 
rank  forbade  him  to  be  a  coward,  and  the  King's  son. 
The  King  called  out  for  somebody  to  come  and  kill  the 
Snake ;  but  this  horrified  them  still  more,  because  in 
that  country  the  people  believed  it  to  be  wicked  to 
kill  any  living  thing,  even  snakes,  and  scorpions,  and 
wasps.  So  the  courtiers  did  nothing,  but  the  young 
Prince  obeyed  his  father,  and  killed  the  Snake  with 
his  stick. 

After  a  while  the  Snake's  wife  became  anxious,  and 
set  out  in  search  of  her  husband.  She  too  saw  the  open 
door  of  the  palace,  and  in  she  went.  O  horror  !  there  on 
the  floor  lay  the  body  of  her  husband,  all  covered  with 


48  The  Wise  Old   Shepherd 

blood,  and  quite  dead.  No  one  saw  the  Snake's  wife 
crawl  in ;  she  inquired  from  a  white  ant  what  had 
happened,  and  when  she  found  that  the  young  Prince 
had  killed  her  husband,  she  made  a  vow,  that  as  he 
had  made  her  a  widow,  so  she  would  make  his  wife  a 
widow. 

That  night,  while  all  the  world  was  asleep,  the  Snake 
crept  into  the  Prince's  bedroom,  and  coiled  around  his 
neck.  The  Prince  slept  on,  and  when  he  awoke  in  the 
morning,  he  was  surprised  to  find  his  neck  encircled  with 
the  coils  of  a  Snake.  He  was  afraid  to  stir,  so  there  he 
remained,  until  the  Prince's  mother  became  anxious,  and 
went  to  see  what  was  the  matter.  When  she  entered  his 
room,  and  saw  him  in  this  plight,  she  gave  a  loud  shriek, 
and  ran  off  to  tell  the  King. 

"Call  the  archers,"  said  the  King.  The  archers  came, 
and  the  King  told  them  to  go  into  the  Prince's  room,  and 
shoot  the  Snake  that  was  coiled  about  his  neck.  They 
were  so  clever,  that  they  could  easily  do  this  without 
hurting  the  Prince  at  all. 

In  came  the  archers  in  a  row,  fitted  the  arrows  to  the 
bows,  the  bows  were  raised  ready  to  shoot,  when,  on 
a  sudden,  from  the  Snake  there  issued  a  voice,  which 
spoke  as  follows  : — 

"  O  archers  !  wait,  and  hear  me  before  you  shoot. 
It  is  not  fair  to  carry  out  the  sentence  before  you  have 
heard  the  case.  Is  not  this  good  law,  an  eye  for  an  eye, 
and  a  tooth  for  a  tooth  ?     Is  it  not  so,  O  King  ?  " 

"Yes,"  replied  the  King,  "that  is  our  law." 

"Then,"  said  the  Snake,  "  I  plead  the  law.  Your  son 
has  made  me  a  widow,  so  it  is  fair  and  right  that  I  should 
make  his  wife  a  widow." 


The  Wise  Old  Shepherd  49 

"That  sounds  right  enough,"  said  the  King,  "but  right 
and  law  are  not  always  the  same  thing.  We  had  better 
ask  somebody  who  knows." 

They  asked  all  the  judges,  but  none  of  them  could 
tell  the  law  of  the  matter.  They  shook  their  heads,  and 
said  they  would  look  up  all  their  law-books,  and  see 
whether  anything  of  the  sort  had  ever  happened  before, 
and  if  so,  how  it  had  been  decided.  That  is  the  way 
judges  used  to  decide  cases  in  that  country,  though  I 
daresay  it  sounds  to  you  a  very  funny  way.  It  looked  as 
if  they  had  not  much  sense  in  their  own  heads,  and  per- 
haps that  was  true.  The  upshot  of  all  was,  that  not  a 
judge  would  give  any  opinion  ;  so  the  King  sent  messen- 
gers all  over  the  country-side,  to  see  if  they  could  find 
somebody  somewhere  who  knew  something. 

One  of  these  messengers  found  a  party  of  five 
Shepherds,  who  were  sitting  upon  a  hill  and  trying  to 
decide  a  quarrel  of  their  own.  They  gave  their  opinions 
so  freely,  and  in  language  so  very  strong,  that  the  King's 
messenger  said  to  himself,  "  Here  are  the  men  for  us. 
Here  are  five  men,  each  with  an  opinion  of  his  own,  and 
all  different."  Post-haste  he  scurried  back  to  the  King, 
and  told  him  he  had  found  at  last  some  one  ready  to 
judge  the  knotty  point. 

So  the  King  and  the  Queen,  and  the  Prince  and 
the  Princess,  and  all  the  courtiers,  got  on  horseback, 
and  away  they  galloped  to  the  hill  whereupon  the  live 
Shepherds  were  sitting,  and  the  Snake  too  went  with 
them,  coiled  round  the  neck  of  the  Prince. 

When  they  got  to  the  Shepherds'  hill,  the  Shepherds 
were  dreadfully  frightened.  At  first  they  thought  that 
the  strangers  were  a  gang  of  robbers ;  and  when  they 


so  The  Wise  Old  Shepherd 

saw  that  it  was  the  King,  their  next  thought  was  that  one 
of  their  misdeeds  had  been  found  out,  and  each  of  them 
began  thinking  what  was  the  last  thing  he  had  done, 
and  wondering,  was  it  that  ?  But  the  King  and  his 
Court  got  off  their  horses,  and  said  good-day  in  the  most 
civil  way.  So  the  Shepherds  felt  their  minds  set  at  ease 
again.     Then  the  King  said — 

"Worthy  Shepherds,  we  have  a  question  to  put  to 
you,  which  not  all  the  judges  in  all  the  courts  of  my 
city  have  been  able  to  solve.  Here  is  my  son,  and  here, 
as  you  see,  is  a  Snake  coiled  round  his  neck.  Now, 
the  husband  of  this  Snake  came  creeping  into  my  palace 
hall,  and  my  son  the  Prince  killed  him ;  so  this  Snake, 
who  is  the  wife  of  the  other,  says  that  as  my  son  has 
made  her  a  widow,  so  she  has  a  right  to  widow  my  son's 
wife.     What  do  you  think  about  it  ?  " 

The  first  Shepherd  said,  "  I  think  she  is  quite  right, 
my  lord  King.  If  any  one  made  my  wife  a  widow,  I 
would  pretty  soon  do  the  same  to  him." 

This  was  brave  language,  and  the  other  Shepherds 
shook  their  heads  and  looked  fierce.  But  the  King 
was  puzzled,  and  could  not  quite  understand  it.  You 
see,  in  the  first  place,  if  the  man's  wife  were  a  widow, 
the  man  would  be  dead  ;  and  then  it  is  hard  to  see  how 
he  could  do  anything.  So  to  make  sure,  the  King  asked 
the  second  Shepherd  whether  that  was  his  opinion  too  ? 

"  Yes,"  said  the  second  Shepherd  ;  "  now  the  Prince 
has  killed  the  Snake,  the  Snake  has  a  right  to  kill  the 
Prince,  if  he  can." 

But  that  was  not  of  much  use  either,  as  the  Snake 
was  as  dead  as  a  door-nail.  So  the  King  passed  on  to 
the  third. 


The  Wise  Old  Shepherd  51 

"  I  agree  with  my  mates,"  said  the  third  Shepherd, 
"because,  you  see,  a  Prince  is  a  Prince,  but  then  a 
Snake  is  a  Snake." 

That  was  quite  true,  they  all  admitted  ;  but  it  did  not 
seem  to  help  the  matter  much.  Then  the  King  asked 
the  fourth  Shepherd  to  say  what  he  thought. 

The  fourth  Shepherd  said,  "  An  eye  for  an  eye,  and 
a  tooth  for  a  tooth  ;  so  I  think  a  widow  should  be  a 
widow,  if  so  be  she  don't  marry  again." 

By  this  time  the  poor  King  was  so  puzzled  that  he 
hardly  knew  whether  he  stood 
on  his  head  or  his  heels.  But 
there  was  still  the  fifth  Shepherd 
left,  the  oldest  and  wisest  of  them 
all;  and  the  fifth  Shepherd  said — 

"  O  King,  I  should  like  to  ask 
two  questions." 

"  Ask  twenty,  if  you  like,"  said 
the  King.  He  did  not  promise 
to  answer  them,  so  he  could  afford  to  be  generous. 

"  First,  I  ask  the  Princess  how  many  sons  she  has  ?  " 

"  Four,"  said  the  Princess. 

"And  how  many  sons  has  Mistress  Snake  here  ?" 

"Seven,"  said  the  Snake. 

"  Then,"  said  the  old  Shepherd,  "  it  will  be  quite  fair 
for  Mistress  Snake  to  kill  his  Highness  the  Prince, 
when  her  Highness  the  Princess  has  had  three  sons 
more." 

"I  never  thought  of  that,"  said  the  Snake.  "Good- 
bye, King,  and  all  you  good  people.  Send  a  message 
when  the  Princess  has  had  three  more  sons,  and  you 
may  count  upon  me — I  will  not  fail  you."     So  saying, 


52  The  Wise  Old  Shepherd 

she   uncoiled   from   the   Prince's    neck   and    sHd   away 
among  the  grass. 

The  King  and  the  Prince  and  everybody  shook  hands 

with  the  wise  old  Shepherd,  and  went  home 

again.     And  as  the  Princess  never  had  any 

more  sons  at  all,  she  and  the  Prince 

lived  happily  for  many  years ; 

and  if  they  are  not  dead 

they  are  living 

still. 


Beware  of  Bad   Company 


BEAUTIFUL  young  Swan  lived  by 
a  beautiful  lake.  All  day  long  he 
used  to  sail  gracefully  over  the 
water,  curving  his  neck  to  look  at 
his  own  image,  or  pluming  his 
white  wings  ;  and  when  he  was 
tired,  he  would  go  to  his  nest  in 
the  rushes,  and  sleep,  or  play  with 
his  brothers  and  sisters. 

In  a  tree  above  that  lake  was  a  Crow.  You  know 
that  Crows  are  dirty  birds,  and  they  feed  on  offal  and 
refuse,  and  people  dislike  them  ;  but  the  Swan  was  white 
and  clean.  Still,  strange  as  it  may  seem,  this  Swan 
struck  up  a  fast  friendship  with  the  Crow.  His  mother 
and  father  begged  him  to  keep  out  of  bad  company,  but 
he  would  not  listen  to  them.  He  had  done  better  to 
keep  to  his  own  kind,  but  wilful  will  have  his  way,  and 
the  Swan  was  sorry  for  it  too  late. 

One  day  the  Crow  said  to  his  friend  the  Swan,  "  Come, 
old  boy,  let  us  go  and  have  some  fun." 

"  I'm  your  Swan,"  says  the  other,  and  away  they 
flew. 

53 


54  Beware  of  Bad  Company 

They  came  to  a  tree,  and  under  the  tree  was  a  very 
pious  man,  saying  his  prayers. 

"  Here's  a  joke,"  said  the  Crow.  "Now  we  shall  see 
sport." 

He  picked  up  a  lump  of  mud  from  the  ground,  and 
flew  up  into  the  tree,  and  then  he  dropped  the  mud, 
splash,  on  the  pious  man's  head. 

This  interrupted  his  prayers,  and  he  could  not  help 
feeling  angry,  although  he  was  so  pious.  So  up  got  he, 
and  looked  about  to  see  who  had  done  the  mischief. 

By  this  time  the  mischievous  Crow  had  flown  off,  and 
he  was  caw-caw-cawing  on  another  tree,  out  of  reach. 
But  the  Swan  sat  still  :  he  was  not  learned  in  mischief, 
and  he  did  not  know  what  to  do.  Then  the  pious  man 
looked  up  into  the  tree,  and  saw  the  Swan  sitting  there,  so 
of  course  he  thought  it  was  the  Swan  who  had  dropped  a 
piece  of  mud  on  his  head.  He  had  a  big  catapult  with 
him,  so  he  put  a  stone  in  his  catapult,  and  slick  !  he  shot 
the  Swan. 

Down  fell  the  Swan  with  a  great  thud.  He  felt  that 
his  end  was  near,  and  how  sorry  he  was  now  that  he  had 
had  anything  to  do  with  the  bad  Crow.  However,  it  was 
too  late  now  to  be  sorry,  so  he  began  to  sing.  They  say 
that  Swans  never  sing  in  all  their  life,  but  when  they  are 
about  to  die  they  sing  beautifully  ;  and  this  is  what  the 
Swan  sang  to  the  pious  man  : — 

"  I  am  no  Crow,  as  you  must  know, 

But  a  Swan  that  lived  by  a  lovely  lake  ; 

With  bad  companions  I  would  go. 

And  now  I  die  for  a  bad  friend's  sake." 

Then  the  Swan  died,  and  the  pious  man  finished 
his  prayers. 


The  Foolish  Wolf 


WOLF  and  an  Ass  were  great 
friends,  and  they  spent  most  of 
their  time  playing  at  an  original 
game  of  their  own.  The  game 
was  easy  enough  to  learn ;  you 
could  play  it  yourselves ;  and  it 
was  this.  First  the  Ass  used  to 
run  away  from  the  Wolf  as  hard 
as  he  could,  and  the  Wolf  used  to  follow ;  and  then 
the  Wolf  would  run  as  hard  as  he  could  from  the 
Ass,  and  the  Ass  would  follow. 

One  day,  as  the  Wolf  was  running  away  full  tilt  from 
the  Ass,  a  Boy  saw  them. 

"  Ha,  ha,  ha,"  said  the  Bo)^,  "  what  a  coward  that 
Wolf  is,  to  run  away  from  an  Ass."  He  thought, 
you  see,  that  the  Wolf  was  afraid  of  being  eaten  by 
the  Ass. 

The  Wolf  heard  him,  and  was  very  angry.  He  stopped 
short,  and  said  to  the  Boy — 

"  So  you  think  I  am  a  coward,  little  Boy  ?  You  shall 
rue  the  word.  I'm  brave  enough  to  eat  you,  as  you  shall 
find  out  this  very  night ;  for  I  will  come  and  carry  you 
off  from  your  home." 

If  the  Wolf  was  no  coward,  at  least  he  was  a  foolish 


S(>  The  Foolish  Wolf 

Wolf  to  tell  the  Boy  if  he  meant  to  carry  him  off,  as  I 
think  you  will  agree  with  me. 

The  Boy  went  home  to  tell  his  mother.  "  Mother," 
said  he,  "  a  Wolf  is  coming  to-night  to  carry  me  off." 

"  Oh,  never  mind  if  he  does,"  said  the  Boy's  mother, 
"  he  won't  hurt  you." 

The  Boy  did  not  feel  quite  so  sure  about  that,  for  he 
had  seen  sharp  teeth  in  the  mouth  of  the  Wolf.  So  he 
chose  out  a  big  and  sharp  stone,  and  put  it  in  his  pocket. 
Why  he  did  not  hide,  I  can't  tell  you,  for  he  never  told 
me ;  but  my  private  opinion  is,  he  was  almost  as  foolish 
as  the  Wolf. 

Well,  when  night  came,  the  Boy's  mother  went  to 
bed,  and  she  was  soon  snoring,  but  the  Boy  stayed  up  to 
wait  for  the  Wolf.  About  ten  o'clock  came  a  knock  at 
the  door. 

"  Come  in,"  said  the  Boy. 

The  Wolf  opened  the  door,  and  came  in,  and  says  he, 
"  Now,  Boy,  you  must  come  along  with  me." 

"  All  right,"  says  the  Boy,  "  mother  doesn't  mind." 

I  have  never  been  able  to  understand  why  his  mother 
did  not  mind,  but  perhaps  he  was  a  very  naughty  Boy, 
and  she  was  glad  to  get  rid  of  him.  If  he  did  nothing 
but  pull  his  sisters'  hair,  and  put  spiders  down  their 
necks,  he  was  just  as  well  out  of  the  house,  I  think. 

So  the  Boy  got  on  the  Wolfs  back,  and  the  Wolf 
trotted  off  briskly  to  his  den.  Then  the  Wolf  thought 
to  himself,  "  I  have  had  my  dinner,  and  I  don't  want  any 
Boy  to-night.  Suppose  I  leave  him  for  to-morrow,  and 
go  for  a  spin  with  my  friend  the  Jackass." 

So  he  left  the  Boy  in  his  den,  and  off  he  went  after 
the  Jackass. 


The   Foolish   Wolf  57 

What  makes  me  think  more  than  ever  that  he  was  a 
fooHsh  Wolf,  is  that  he  never  even  tied  the  Boy's  legs 
together.  So  when  the  Wolf  was  gone,  the  Boy  went 
out  of  the  den,  and  climbed  up  a  tree. 

In  an  hour  or  two  back  came  the  Wolf,  ready  for 
bed.  He  looked  in  at  the  mouth  of  the  den,  but 
no  Boy. 

"  Where  on  earth  has  that  Boy  got  to  ? "  said  he ; 
"  I  left  him  here  safe  and  sound."  It  never  occurred 
to  this  Wolf  that  legs  can  walk,  and  Boys  can  climb 
trees.  He  felt  very  anxious,  and  as  many  people  do 
when  their  wits  are  puzzled,  he  opened  his  mouth 
wide. 

The  Boy  saw  him  standing  at  the  opening  of  the 
den,  with  his  mouth  wide  open,  so  he  pulled  the  sharp 
stone  out  of  his  pocket,  and  threw  it  in.  This  Boy 
was  a  very  good  shot  with  a  stone,  and  the  stone 
went  straight  into  the  Wolf's  inside,  and  cut  his  inside 
so  much  that  he  died. 

Then  the  Boy  climbed  down  from  the  tree,  and 

he  was  at  home  in  time  for  breakfast.     I  don't 

know  whether   his  mother  was  pleased 

to  see  him  or  not ;  but  there  he  was, 

and  there  he  stayed,  and  if  he 

has  not   gone  away,  he  is 

there  still. 


Reflected   Glory 


HERE  was  a  Shepherd  who 
owned  a  multitude  of  goats. 
Among  these  was  one  Goat, 
weak  and  lame.  You  might  sup- 
pose that  the  shepherd  took 
especial  care  of  this  lame  Goat, 
but  not  he  ;  on  the  contrary,  he 
beat  him  and  bullied  him,  and 
made  his  whole  life  a  misery. 

A  time  came  when  the  lame  Goat  could  stand  it  no 
longer.  So  watching  his  chance,  he  gave  his  master 
the  slip,  and  into  the  forest  and  far  away.  As  he 
hobbled  along,  he  trembled  to  think  of  the  ferocious 
beasts  that  the  forest  was  full  of ;  but  even  to  be  de- 
voured by  an  evil  beast  was  better  far  than  to  be  for 
ever  beaten. 

The  lame  Goat  made  up  his  mind  that  the  only  way 
by  which  he  could  save  his  life  was  to  gain  the  protec- 
tion of  some  powerful  beast.  So  he  kept  his  eyes  open 
as  he  hobbled  along ;  and,  by-and-by,  what  should  he 
see  but  a  dark  cave,  and  at  the  mouth  of  the  cave,  a 
Lion's  footprints.  Now  a  Lion  was  just  the  beast  the 
Goat  wanted,  for  to  begin  with,  he  is  the  King  of 
Beasts,  and  all    the  other  beasts  fear  him ;   and   then, 

too,  he  is  a  noble  beast,  and  if  he  passes  his  word  he 

58 


Reflected  Glory  59 

will  never  break  it.  Of  course,  it  might  be  that  the 
Lion  would  eat  our  Goat  first,  and  ask  questions  after- 
wards ;  but  the  Goat  had  to  take  his  chance  of  that. 

The  upshot  of  it  was,  that  the  lame  Goat  sat  down 
by  the  Lion's  den,  and  waited. 

By-and-by,  trippity  trip,  trippity  trip,  and  up  came 
a  Jackal.  Said  the  Jackal  to  the  Goat,  "  God  bless  you. 
Gaffer  Goat,  you'll  be  the  first  food  that  has  passed  my 
lips  this  many  a  da3^" 

"  Dear  grandson,"  said  the  Goat,  "  God  bless  you 
too.  I'm  here  to  be  eaten,  that  is  true  enough  ;  but  I'm 
meat  for  your  betters.  He  whose  footprints  you  see 
here  has  bidden  me  wait  until  he  wants  me." 

The  Jackal  looked  at  the  footprints,  and  saw  they 
were  a  Lion's.  ''Aha,"  thought  he,  "let  sleeping  dogs 
lie.  If  I  eat  the  Lion's  meat,  the  Lion  will  devour  my 
cubs."     Then  he  went  away  sorrowful. 

A  little  while,  and  trappity  trap,  trappity  trap,  up 
came  a  Wolf.     Quoth  the  Wolf — 

"Well  met,  Nuncle  Goat;  you  make  my  mouth 
water.     A  five  days'  fast  is  sauce  for  the  dinner." 

"Well  met,  my  dear  nephew,"  says  the  lame  Goat. 
"  But  you  had  better  leave  me  alone.  I'm  food  for 
your  betters.  Look  upon  these  footprints,  and  let  me 
tell  you  that  he  who  made  them  has  bidden  me  wait 
here  until  he  is  hungry." 

"Oho,"  said  the  Wolf,  "a  Lion.  Who  tackles  the 
strong  will  not  live  long.  If  I  eat  King  Lion's  meat. 
King  Lion  will  make  a  meal  of  my  cubs."  Away  went 
the  Wolf,  trappity  trap,  trappity-trap. 

A  little  while  more,  and  swish,  swish,  swish,  the  Lion 
himself  came  stalking  slowly  along,  whisking  away  the 


6o  Reflected  Glory- 

flies  with  his  tail.    When  he  saw  the  Goat  sitting  beside 
his  den,  says  he — • 

"  Friend  Goat,  what  want  you  here  ?  Are  you  anxious 
to  make  a  meal  for  me  ?  " 

**0  King  Lion,"  said  the  Goat,  bowing  before  him 
very  humbly,  "  here  I  have  been  sitting  these  two  hours, 
and  wolves  and  jackals  came  to  eat  me ;  but  the  sight 
of  your  footprints  was  safety  for  me  :  I  told  them  I 
was  yours,  and  they  took  to  their  heels  for  fear.  Now 
eat  me  if  you  will ;  for  yours  I  am." 

Then  the  Lion  said,  *'  O  Goat,  if  you  have  called 
yourself  mine,  never  will  I  devour  you.  I  will  see  to  it 
that  you  are  well  treated." 

Then  the  Lion  went  out  and  found  an  Elephant, 
who  greeted  him  with  the  greatest  respect.  "  Elephant," 
said  the  Lion,  "  I  want  you  to  do  something  for  me." 

"  Speak  on,"  said  the  Elephant,  "  do  it  I  will." 

The  Lion  said,  "There  is  a  poor  lame  Goat  has 
thrown  himself  on  my  mercy,  and  I  have  thought  of 
a  plan  by  which  he  can  be  fed.  If  you  will  suffer  him 
to  mount  on  your  back,  then  while  you  go  grazing 
about,  he  can  browse  upon  the  young  shoots  of  the 
trees  as  you  pass  under." 

"That  is  a  good  idea,"  said  the  Elephant,  "and  I'll 
do  it  for  you  willingly,  and  indeed  anything  else  in  my 
power." 

If  the  Lion  was  pleased  at  the  kindness  of  the 
Elephant,  more  pleased  was  the  lame  Goat ;  and  a 
happy  life  was  his  from  that  day.     Never  again  was  he 

beaten  by  a  cruel  goatherd  :  but  he  fed  on  the  fat 

of  the  land,  and  lived  to  a  green  old  age  ;  and 

I  hope  we  may  be  half  as  happy  as  he  was. 


The  Cat  and  the  Sparrows 


I  HERE  was  once  a  pair  of  Sparrows  that 
lived  in  a  tree.  They  used  to  hop  about 
all  over  the  place,  picking  up  seeds  or  any- 
ig  they  could  find  to  eat.  One  day,  when 
they  came  back  with  their  pickings,  the  Cock 
had  found  some  rice,  and  the  Hen  a  few  lentils. 
They  put  it  all  in  an  earthen  pot,  and  then  proceeded 
to  cook  their  dinner.  Then  they  divided  the  mess 
into  two  equal  parts. 

The  Cock  was  rather  greedy,  so  he  would  not  wait 
while  his  wife  put  out  the  fire  and  got  ready  to  join 
in  the  meal.  No  !  he  gobbled  up  his  share  at  once, 
before  she  could  begin. 

When  at  last  the  poor  Hen  came  up,  her  greedy 
mate  would  not  let  her  rest  even  then.  "Go  and  get 
me  a  drink  of  water,"  said  he  quite  rudely. 

She  was  a  very  kind  wife,  so  without  taking  any 
notice  of  his  rudeness,  off  she  went  for  the  water. 

While  she  was  gone  the  Cock-sparrow's  eyes  fell  on 
his  wife's  share  of  the  dinner.  "Ah,"  thought  he, 
"how  I  should  like  another  bit!  Well,  why  shouldn't 
I  have  it  ?  A  man  does  all  the  work,  and  women 
don't  want  much  to  eat  at  any  time."     So  without  any 

F  6i 


62  The  Cat  and  the  Sparrows 

more  ado,  he  just  set  to,  and  gobbled  up  his  wife's 
share. 

Back  came  the  Hen-sparrow  with  a  drink  of  water 
for  her  husband.  When  he  had  drunk  it  up  (and  I  am 
afraid  he  forgot  to  say  thank  you),  she  turned  round  to 
look  for  her  dinner.  Lo  and  behold  !  there  was  none. 
What  could  have  become  of  it  ?  As  she  was  wondering, 
she  happened  to  look  at  her  husband ;  he  looked  so 
guilty  that  there  could  be  no  manner  of  doubt  where 
her  dinner  was. 

"You  greedy  bird,"  said  she,  "why  have  you  eaten 
my  dinner  ?  " 

"  I  haven't  touched  your  dinner,"  said  the  Cock 
angrily. 

"I'm  sure  you  have,"  said  she,  "or  you  would  not 
look  so  guilty.  Why,  you  are  actually  blushing."  And 
so  indeed  he  was ;  the  tip  of  his  beak  was  quite 
red. 

However,  he  still  denied  it,  and  grew  angrier  and 
angrier,  as  people  do  when  they  know  they  are  in  the 
wrong.  They  had  a  terrible  quarrel.  At  last  the  Hen- 
sparrow  said,  "  Well,  I  know  a  way  to  find  out  whether 
you  are  telling  lies  or  not.  You  come  along  with  me." 
And  she  made  him  go  with  her  to  the  well. 

Across  the  top  of  the  well  she  stretched  a  piece  of 
string,  and  she  sat  on  the  middle  of  the  string,  and 
began  to  chirp,  "  If  I  am  telling  lies,  I  pray  I  may  fall 
in."  But  though  she  sat  there  a  long  time,  chirping 
away,  she  did  not  fall  in. 

Then  came  the  Cock-sparrow's  turn.  He  perched 
on  the  string  and  began  to  chirrup,  "  If  I  am  telling  lies, 
may  I  fall  into  the  well ;  "  but  hardly   had  he  got  the 


The   Cat  and  the   Sparrows 

words  out  of  his  mouth,  when 
— splash  !  down  he  went. 

Then  the  Hen  was  very 
sorry  that  she  had  proposed 
this  plan ;  she  began  to  weep 
and  cheep,  and  said — "  Alas, 
alas,  why  didn't  I  leave  it 
alone  ?  What  does  it  matter 
if  he  eats  my  dinner,  so  long 
as  I  have  my  dear  husband  ? 
Now  I  have  killed  him  by  my 
folly." 

Just  at  that  moment  up 
came  a  Cat. 

"  What's  the  matter  ?  "  said 
the  Cat. 

"  Cheep,  cheep,  chcA^p," 
went  the  Hen-sparrow.  "  My 
husband  has  fallen  into  the 
well,  and  I  don't  know  how 
to  get  him  out." 

"If  I  get  him  out,"  said 
the  Cat,  "will  you  let  me  eat 
him  ?  " 

"  Of  course  you  may,"  said 
the  Hen-sparrow. 

So  the  Cat  climbed  down, 
and  pulled  out  the  Cock-spar- 
row. When  she  had  brought 
him  to  the  edge  of  the  well, 
said  she,  "Now  I'm  going  to 
eat  him  as  you  promised." 


63 


64  The  Cat  and  the  Sparrows 

"Oh,  all  right,"  said  the  Hen.  "But  stop  a  minute, 
your  mouth  is  dirty.  I  am  sure  you  have  been  eating 
mice.     Now  haven't  you  ?  " 

"  Why,  yes,"  said  the  Cat,  "  so  I  have." 
"Well,"  said  the  Hen-sparrow,  "you  must  get  your- 
self clean.     We  birds  are  clean  creatures,  and  you  must 
positively  wash  your  mouth  before  you  begin." 

Away  went  the  Cat,  and  washed  her  mouth  clean, 
and  came  back  again. 

The  Hen-sparrow  looked  at  her  carefully.  "  You 
have  not  washed  your  whiskers,"  said  she ;  "  they  are 
still  dirty." 

The  Cat  went  obediently  and  washed  her  whiskers. 

Meanwhile  the  Cock-sparrow  had  been  sitting  on  the 

edge  of  the  well  in  the  sun,  and  by  this  time  his  feathers 

were  quite  dry.     So  his  Hen  chirped  to  him,  "  Now, 

dear,  you  can  fly,  let's  be  off."       And  off 

they  flew  together,  and  the  Cat  was 

left  licking  her  chops  and 

wishing  she  had  not 

been  such 

a  fool. 


The  Foolish  Fish 


FISH    was    once   flapping    and 

flopping    on    the    sand    by    the 

banks   of  a    river.      She    was    a 

lady  Fish — how  she  got  there  I 

don't   know ;    but  she  had   been 

better   to   stay  at  home,  as   you 

shall   hear.      Well,   she    flapped 

away  on  the  sand,  and  couldn't 

get  off ;  she  began  to  feel  very  dry.     A  man  came 

by,  riding  upon  a  horse.     "  O  Man,"  shouted  the 

Fish,  "  do  carry  me  back  to  the  water  again,  or 

I  shall  be  dried  up  and  die." 

**  No,  no,"  said  the  Man,  "not  I,  indeed  !    You 

are  a  she,  and   I   have   had  so  much  bother  with  shes 

in  my  life  that  I  shall  keep  clear  of  you." 

"  O  dear  good  Man  ! "  cried  the  Fish,  "  do  please  help 

me,  and  I  will  promise  not  to  behave  badly ;   I'll  be  as 

nice  as  any  man  could  be.     Just  think  !  if  you  leave  me 

here,  I  Ishall  dry  into  a  stick,  or  somebody  will  come 

along  and  eat  me." 

The  Man  scratched  his  head,  and  wondered  what  he 

ought  to  do  ;  but  at  last  he  took  pity  on  the  Fish,  and 

65 


66  The   Foolish  Fish 

got  down  off  his  horse.  Then  he  picked  up  the  Fish 
and  put  her  on  his  shoulder,  and  walked  down  to  the 
water.     **  Now  then,"  said  he,  "in  with  you." 

"Take  me  into  deep  water,"  said  the  Fish;  "this 
won't  do  for  me."  So  the  good-natured  fellow  took  her 
and  waded  into  the  water  till  he  was  neck-deep.  Then 
the  Fish  opened  her  mouth  wide,  and  said — 

"Now  I'm  going  to  eat  you  I  I'll  teach  you  to  say 
nasty  things  about  women." 

That  was  a  nice  way  of  showing  gratitude  to  the  Man, 
wasn't  it  ?  I  wonder  the  Man  did  not  eat  the  Fish, 
instead  of  the  Fish  eating  him.  But  I  am  afraid  the  Man 
was  rather  stupid.  It  never  occurred  to  him  that  he 
might  eat  the  Fish,  and  all  he  did  was  to  scratch  his 
head  again.  "That's  not  fair,"  said  he;  "I  saved  your 
life,  and  now  you  want  to  eat  me.  We  must  find  some 
one  to  decide  between  us,  and  say  which  is  right." 

"  All  right,"  said  the  Fish ;  "  take  me  up  on  your 
shoulder  again,  and  let  us  find  somebody." 

So  the  Man  took  her  up  on  his  shoulder  again,  and 
out  of  the  water  came  he.  On  the  bank  of  the  river 
grew  a  Crab-apple  Tree,  and  the  Man  appealed  to  this 
Tree  to  decide  their  dispute.  "  O  Tree,"  said  he,  "  this 
Fish  was  lying  on  the  sand,  and  I  saved  her  life,  and 
now  she  wants  to  eat  me.  Do  you  think  that  is 
right  ?  " 

"  Of  course  ! "  said  the  Tree — whose  temper  was  as 
crabbed  as  his  apples — "  of  course  !  Why  not  ?  You 
men  are  always  doing  mischief.  Here  am  I,  an  innocent 
Crab-apple  Tree,  and  people  come  along  and  cut  off  my 
branches  to  shade  themselves  from  the  sun.  I  call  that 
cooll" 


The  Foolish   Fish  67 

"Well,"  said  the  Man,  "they  want  to  be  cool,  and 
that's  why  they  cut  your  branches  off." 

"  Don't  be  a  fool,"  squeaked  the  Crab-apple  Tree ; 
"you  know  what  I  mean.  So  as  you  do  all  this  damage 
to  us,  we  are  right  to  do  all  we  can  to  hurt  you,  and 
therefore  this  Fish  has  a  right  to  eat  you  if  she 
chooses." 

"Come  along,"  said  the  Fish,  as  she  opened  her 
mouth  ;  "jump  in  !" 

"Wait  a  bit,"  said  the  Man,  "we  must  try  somebody 
else.  I  feel  sure  there  is  something  wrong  with  this  judg- 
ment." The  Fish  did  not  wish  to  ask  anybody  else,  but 
she  had  to  agree,  because  they  were  on  dry  land. 

So  they  went  along  until  they  saw  an  Elephant. 

"  O  Elephant ! "  cried  the  Man,  "  do  you  see  this  Fish  ? 
I  saved  her  life,  and  now  she  wants  to  eat  me.  Do  you 
think  this  is  right  ?  " 

"Right  ?"  said  the  Elephant,  "I  should  rather  think 
so  !  Why,  you  men  are  horrid  brutes,  always  making  us 
carry  half-a-dozen  of  you  about  on  our  backs,  or  prod- 
ding us  with  a  spike,  or  something  nasty.  Eat  you  up  ? 
I  only  wish  /  could  eat  you  up,  and  I  would  do  it  too, 
but  nature  makes  me  eat  leaves,  and  you  are  too  tough 
for  me  to  digest." 

So  there  was  no  comfort  to  be  had  from  the  Elephant. 

The  Fish  opened  her  mouth  wider  than  ever,  for  she 
was  getting  hungry,  and  said,  "  Now  then,  look  sharp — 
in  with  you  !  " 

The  Man  was  in  despair.  What  was  he  to  do  ? 
"  Give  me  one  more  chance,"  said  he,  "  and  if  they  all 
say  the  same,  then  you  shall  eat  me." 

He  looked  round,  and  not  far  off  he  saw  a  Jackal. 


68  The  Foolish   Fish 

"  Friend  Jackal,"  he  called  out ;  "  I  say,  Jackal !  Stop  a 
minute,  I  want  to  ask  you  something." 

"All  right,"  said  the  Jackal,  "ask  away." 

**  This  Fish,"  said  the  Man,  "  was  flip-flap-flopping  on 
the  sand  and  gasping  for  breath,  and  I  saved  her  life ; 
and  then  as  soon  as  she  got  safe  back  into  the  water 
again,  she  wanted  to  eat  me.  Do  you  think  that's 
right  ?  " 

"  Hm,"  said  the  Jackal,  "  I  don't  quite  understand. 
Where  was  the  Fish  ?  " 

"  Lying  on  the  sand,  you  booby,"  said  the  Fish, 
getting  angry. 

"  How  ?  "  asked  the  Jackal. 

"Why,"  said  the  Fish,  "what  does  that  matter,  I 
should  like  to  know  ?  " 

"  Can't  understand,"  said  the  Jackal,  looking  stupidly 
all  round  and  then  up  at  the  sky. 

"Well,"  said  the  Fish,  angrier  than  ever,  "all  you 
are  asked  to  do,  is  to  say  whether  or  no  I  am  to  eat  this 
Man.     Can't  you  do  that  without  all  this  bother  ?" 

"  No,"  said  the  Jackal. 

"  Oh  dear,"  said  the  Fish,  "  what  a  stupid  you  must  be ! 
All  right  then,  come  along,  and  we'll  show  you."  So  she 
made  the  Man  take  her  on  his  shoulder  again,  and  carry 
her  to  the  place  where  she  had  been  lying  on  the  sand. 

"  That's  the  place,"  said  she. 

The  Jackal  was  not  satisfied  yet,  but  he  must  needs 
see  how  she  lay.  So  the  Man  put  her  down  on  the  sand, 
and  the  Fish  began  flip-flap-flopping  again. 

"  Now  then,"  said  the  Jackal  to  the  Man,  "  up  on  the 
horse  with  you,  and  be  off  !  What  does  the  Fish  matter 
to  you  ?     Let  her  die,  she  deserves  no  better." 


The  Foolish   Fish  69 

The  Man  thought  this  a  good  idea,  so  he  got  up  on 
his  horse,  and  off,  and  was  more  resolved  than  ever  to 
keep  clear  of  women. 

But  the  Fish  was  very  angry  at  being  tricked  so 
neatly.  "  You  shall  pay  for  this  ! "  she  gasped  to  the 
Jackal ;  "  I'll  come  and  eat  you  in  your  den." 

"  All  right,  you  may  try,"  said  the  Jackal,  "  but  I  fancy 
you  will  get  eaten  yourself."  And  so  saying,  away  he 
scampered. 

The  Fish  flapped  and  flopped,  until  somehow  or  other 
she  managed  to  flap  herself  into  the  river. 

After  this  the  Fish  used  to  sit  by  the  roots  of  a  fig- 
tree  which  went  down  into  the  river,  with  her  mouth 
gaping,  in  the  hope  that  something  might  fall  in.  The 
Jackal  used  to  come  down  to  this  place  to  drink,  and 
one  day,  as  he  was  dri  iking,  the  Fish  caught  him  tight 
by  the  leg. 

"Oh  you  silly  Fish,"  said  the  Jackal,  "  why  didn't  you 
catch  my  leg  ?  You  have  got  hold  of  the  wrong  thing," 
said  he ;  "there's  my  leg,  if  you  want  it,"  pointing  to  the 
root  of  the  fig-tree.  The  foolish  Fish  believed  she  had 
made  a  mistake,  and  let  go  the  Jackal's  leg,  and  took  a 
good  bite  of  the  root.  The  Jackal  laughed,  and  scam- 
pered away,  crying,  "  Oh  what  a  fool  you  are  !  You  don't 
know  wood  from  meat !  " 

"  Never  mind,"  said  the  Fish,  "  next  time  it  will  be 
my  turn,  and  then  we  shall  see.  I'll  come  and  eat  you 
in  your  den." 

Next  day,  when  the  Jackal  had  gone  into  the  forest 
to  find  food,  our  friend  the  Fish  jumped  out  of  the 
water,  and  went  roll,  roll,  rolling  into  the  forest,  until 
she  came  to  the  den  of  the  Jackal ;  and  inside  the  door 


70  The  Foolish   Fish 

of  the  Jackal's  den  she  stood  on  her  tail,  waiting  for  him 
to  come  back.  By-and-by  back  came  the  Jackal,  sure 
enough  ;  but  Jackals  are  very  cunning  creatures,  and  he 
came  up  slinking  quietly,  and  saw  the  Fish  before  the 
Fish  saw  him.  So  he  called  out  in  a  loud  voice,  "  Den, 
Den!" 

No  answer.  Again  he  called  out,  "  Den,  Den  ! "  This 
time  the  Fish  thought  that  the  Den  was  no  doubt  accus- 
tomed to  reply  when  the  Jackal  called  to  it.  Perhaps  it 
was  shy  because  she  was  present.  Anyhow  she  thought 
she  had  better  answer,  so  she  called  out  in  return,  "Well, 
well!" 

"  You  there  ?  "  asked  the  Jackal. 

"  Yes,  I'm  here  all  right,"  answered  the  Fish. 

"Just  stop  a  minute,"  said  the  Jackal,  "and  I'll  be 
back  directly." 

Away  he  ran,  and  the  Fish  crept  inside  the  hole,  and 
hid.  The  Jackal  ran  about  gathering  dry  leaves,  and 
with  the  leaves  he  made  a  little  pile  at  the  mouth  of  his 
hole.  Then  he  went  to  a  lire  which  some  traveller  had 
left  smouldering,  and  seizing  a  brand,  he  brought  it  and 
set  light  to  the  leaves  at  the  mouth  of  the  cave.  The  fire 
soon  burned  up. 

"  Is  that  nice,  dear  Den  ?"  asked  the  Jackal. 

"  Very  nice,  thank  you,"  said  the  Fish,  who  thought 
she  must  go  on  pretending. 

"I'll  soon  make  you  warm,"  said  the  Jackal,  and  he 
piled  on  more  fuel.     It  began  to  get  very  hot. 

"That's  enough  now,"  said  the  Fish. 

"  No,  no.  Den  dear,"  said  the  cunning  Jackal,  laughing 
to  himself.  More  and  more  leaves  he  piled  on  the  top 
of  the  fire.     One  side  of  the  Fish  got  so  hot  that  she 


The  Foolish  Fish 


71 


turned  the  other.    Then  it  got  hotter  and  hotter,  and 

soon  the  Fish  expired.     When  the  fire  went   out,  the 

Jackal  looked  into  the  cave,  and  there  was  the  Fish, 

done  on  both  sides  crisp  and  brown.     He  sat 

down  on  his  haunches,  and  gobbled  her 

up  in  a  trice,  and  he  never  had  a 

nicer  dinner.     That  was  the 

end  of  the  foolish  and 

ungrateful  Fish. 


The  Clever  Goat 


SHEPHERD  was  feeding  his  flock 
on  the  hills ;  and  as  they  were 
going  home  again  in  the  evening, 
one  of  the  goats  lagged  behind. 
Now,  this  Goat  was  very  old,  and 
goats  are  not  like  men,  for  the 
older  they  grow  the  wiser  they 
J   become.     So  this  Goat,  being  very 


old  indeed,  was  also  very  wise.  There  was  a  very  nice 
clump  of  grass  by  the  wayside,  and  the  wise  old  Goat 
said  to  herself,  "  Here  is  the  nicest  grass  I  have  seen 
for  a  long  time.  I'm  not  hungry,  because  I  have  been 
eating  all  day  ;  but  I  daresay  I  shall  soon  be  hungry 
again,  so  I  had  better  eat  it  while  I  can  get  it."  And 
accordingly  she  set  to  work,  and  very  soon  she  had 
eaten  it  all  up.     Then  she  trotted  off  homeward. 

As  the  old  Goat  went  merrily  trotting  along,  with 
her  eyes  on  the  ground,  suddenly  she  looked  up — and 
lo  and  behold  !  a  huge  Wolf  sitting  on  a  stump,  and 
staring  at  her  hungrily !  What  was  she  to  do  ?  To 
escape  was  impossible.  She  pulled  her  wits  together, 
and  began — 

"Oh,  my  dear  Mr.  Wolf  !  "  cried  she,  "how  delighted 


The  Clever  Goat  73 

I  am  to  see  you.  I  have  been  looking  for  you  all  day, 
and  now  I've  found  you  at  last." 

The  Wolf  was  so  utterly  astonished  that  he  had  not 
a  word  to  say  at  first.  But  after  a  while,  he  found  his 
tongue,  and  thus  said  he — 

"  My  good  Goat,  you  must  be  out  of  your  senses. 
Why,  I'm  accustomed  to  feed  on  goats,  and  here  you 
say  you  are  glad  to  see  me.  Who  ever  heard  of  a 
creature  so  foolish  as  to  throw  itself  into  the  jaws  of 
death  of  its  own  free  will  ?  " 

"Ah,"  replied  the  Goat,  "you  don't  know  my  Shep- 
herd, that's  quite  clear.  He  is  the  kindest  man  in  the 
world,  and  he  has  a  special  weakness  for  you.  He  was 
talking  of  you  only  this  morning,  and  saying  that  he 
owes  you  a  good  turn  for  not  gobbling  up  any  of  his 
sheep,  though  it  is  ever  so  long  since  he  began  to  feed 
them  in  your  forest.  So  he  has  sent  me  to  you  as  a 
token  of  his  esteem.  I'm  an  old  Goat,  you  see,  and 
not  much  use  to  him  now.  '  No  ifs  and  buts,'  says  he 
to  me — '  off  with  you,  and  let  kind  Mr.  Wolf  eat  you  for 
his  dinner.'  And  so  here  I  am.  And  indeed,  you  must 
not  suppose  I  am  here  against  my  will ;  not  at  all.  I 
could  not  think  of  disobeying  our  good  Shepherd.  And, 
if  I  did,  he  could  sell  me  to  the  butcher,  to  have  my 
throat  cut,  and  be  eaten  by  horrid  beasts  of  men,  who 
have  only  two  legs  to  bless  themselves  with.  I  assure 
you,  I  much  prefer  being  eaten  by  a  noble  four-legged 
gentleman  like  yourself." 

Our  Wolf  was  still  so  surprised  that  he  could  find 
nothing  to  say ;   and  the  Goat  went  on — 

"  Do  not  think,  dear  sir,  that  I  am  flattering  you. 
Look  at  me  and  judge  if  a  respectable  old  Goat  of  my 


74  The  Clever  Goat 

age,  and  at  the  point  of  death — for  I  see  you  Hcking 
your  chops — whether,  I  say,  such  a  one  would  dare  to 
tell  lies.  But,  Mr.  Wolf,  there  is  one  reason  why  I 
shall  be  sorry  to  die.  You  may  not  have  heard  of  it, 
but  it  is  true  nevertheless  that  I  am  a  famous  songster, 
and  it  will  be  indeed  a  pity  that  a  gift  so  rare  should 
be  lost.  Will  you  do  me  one  last  favour,  and  let  me 
sing  you  a  song  before  I  die  ?  I  am  sure  it  will  delight 
you,  and  you  will  enjoy  eating  me  all  the  more  after- 
wards." 

The  Wolf  was  very  much  pleased  at  the  Goat's 
politeness.  "Well,"  said  he,  "since  you  are  so  kind 
as  to  offer,  I  should  like  to  hear  what  you  can  do  in 
the  way  of  music." 

"All  right,"  said  our  Goat,  "just  sit  down  on  that 
hillock  yonder,  and  I'll  stay  here  ;  it  won't  sound  so  nice 
if  I  am  too  near  you." 

The  Wolf  trotted  off  to  the  hillock,  and  sat  down, 
and  waited  for  the  Goat  to  begin  her  song. 

The  Goat  opened  her  mouth,  and  uttered  a  loud 
"  Baa-baa-baa  ! " 

"Is  that  all?"  asked  the  Wolf.  He  was  rather 
disappointed,  but  he  did  not  say  so,  for  fear  of  being 
thought  an  ignorant  lout. 

"Oh  no,"  said  the  Goat,  "that  was  only  tuning  up, 
to  get  the  pitch."  Then  she  cried  again,  "  Baa-baa-baa," 
louder  than  before. 

Meanwhile  the  Shepherd  was  not  far  off,  and  he 
heard  this  loud  Baa-baa  of  one  of  his  goats.  "Hullo," 
thought  he,  "what's  up,  I  wonder?"  and  set  off 
running  in  the  direction  of  the  sound.  Just  as  the 
Wolf  was  getting  impatient,  and  the  Goat  was  opening 


The  Clever  Goat 


75 


her  mouth  for  another  Baa-baa,  up  came  the  Shepherd, 

behind  the  Wolf.     Thwack,  thwack,  thwack  !  came  his 

stick  on  the  stupid  Wolf,  and  with  a  groan  the  Wolf 

turned  over  and  died  on  the  spot.     The  Shepherd 

and  his  wise  old  Goat  trudged  happily  home 

to  the  sheepfold,  and  after  that  the  Goat 

took  good    care   to   keep 

with  the  flock. 


A   Crow  is  a  Crow  for  Ever 


HERE  once  was  a  very  learned 
Bishop,  who  was  very  fond  of 
bird's-nesting.  One  day  he  saw  a 
fine  large  nest  up  in  an  elm-tree, 
and  when  he  had  climbed  up  he 
saw  that  it  was  full  of  young 
Crow-chicks.  One  of  these  chicks 
had  such  a  winsome  appearance, 
that  the  Bishop  put  him  inside  his  hat,  and  took  him 
home  to  the  Palace. 

In  due  time  the  Crow  grew  up,  and  as  he  heard 
around  him  continually  the  Bishop  and  his  friends 
talking  divinity,  by  degrees  he  became  quite  clever  in 
divinity  himself.  He  knew  all  the  kings  of  Israel  and 
Judah,  and  the  cities  of  refuge,  so  that  at  last  there  was 
no  question  in  a  divinity  paper  he  could  not  answer. 
Indeed,  once  when  the  examining  Chaplain  was  ill,  the 
Crow  did  his  work  for  him. 

The  fame  of  this  learned  Crow  spread  far  and  wide, 
until  at  last  it  reached  the  King's  ears.  Now  the  Bishop 
had  been  expecting  this  all  along,  and  ever  since  he 
found  the  young  Crow  he  had  been  training  him  for  a 
purpose.  I  am  sorry  to  say  he  was  rather  a  greedy  man  ; 
and  as  he  hoped  to  get  something  out  of  the  King  by 


A  Crow  is  a  Crow  for  Ever  79 

the  means  of  this  Crow,  he  trained  him  to  fly  towards 
anything  that  shone  bright,  such  as  gold  and  silver. 

"When  the  King  asks  me  to  show  off  my  Crow," 
he  thought,  "  I  will  ask  as  a  price  anything  the  Crow 
may  choose  ;  and  then  doubtless  he  will  fly  to  the  King's 
crown,  and  I  shall  be  King  ! " 

At  the  first  all  fell  out  as  he  looked  for.  The  King 
sent  word  to  say  he  wanted  to  see  the  Crow.  He  was 
sitting  in  the  garden,  with  his  gold  crown  on,  and  all 
his  courtiers  around  him  ;  and  then  asked  to  hear  him 
say  all  the  kings  of  Israel  and  Judah. 

"With  pleasure,  sire,"  said  the  Bishop;  "if  your 
Majesty  will  deign  to  grant  him  what  he  chooses  for 
a  reward.  He  has  been  well  taught,  and  will  not  work 
for  nothing." 

"  By  all  means,"  said  the  King  ;  "  let  him  choose  his 
reward,  and  I  will  give  it." 

Then  the  Bishop  took  his  Crow  out  of  his  hat,  and 
the  Crow  said  all  the  kings  of  Israel  and  Judah  quite 
right,  forwards  and  backwards,  without  a  single  mistake. 
The  King  was  delighted :  he  could  not  have  done  as  much. 

"And  now,  sire,"  said  the  Bishop,  "I  will  let  him 
go,  and  tell  him  to  choose  his  c-wn  prize." 

So  the  Bishop  let  the  Crow  loose.  The  Crow  was 
flying  straight  for  the  King's  crown,  when  all  on  a  sudden 
what  should  he  spy  but  a  dead  cat !  He  turned  off  on 
the  instant,  and  down  he  swooped  on  the  dead  cat. 
You  know  Crows  eat  dead  things  and  offal ;  and  this 
Crow  liked  a  dead  cat  for  dinner  better  than  a  gold 
crown. 

The  King  laughed,  the  courtiers  roared  with  merri- 
ment. 


8o 


A  Crow  is  a  Crow  for  Ever 


"  Bishop,"  said  the  King,  when  he  had  done  laugh- 
ing, "  your  Crow  is  easily  pleased,  it  seems  !  Well,  he 
has  chosen  h's  reward,  and  by  my  royal  beard,  he  shall 
have  it.     Ha,  ha,  ha  !  " 

But  the  Bishop  felt  very  rueful  indeed.  All  his  pains 
and  trouble  lost,  and  nothing  to  show  for  it !  He  shook 
his  head  and  went  away,  singing  to  himself  a  little  chant 
he  made  up  on  the  spot,  all  out  of  his  own  head — 

"  I  kept  my  Crow  in  a  lovely  cage, 
And  taught  him  wisdom's  holy  page  ; 
But  still  'tis  true,  whate'er  he  may  know, 
A  dirty  Crow  is  a  dirty  Crow." 


The  Grateful  Goat 

/ 

NCE  upon  a  time  a  Butcher  bought  a  Goat ; 
but  as  he  was  going  to  kill  the  Goat,  and 
make  him  into  meat  for  the  table,  the  Goat 
opened  his  mouth,  and  said — 

"  If  you  kill  me,  Butcher,  you  will  be 
a  few  shillings  the  richer  ;  but  if  you  spare 
my  life,  I  will  repay  you  for  your  kind- 
ness." 

This  Butcher  had  killed  many  goats  in 
his  day,  but  he  never  before  heard  one  of 
them  talk.  Goats  can  talk  to  each  other, 
as  you  must  have  heard  ;  but  most  of  them  do  not 
learn  English.  So  the  Butcher  thought  there  must  be 
something  special  about  this  Goat,  and  did  not  kill  him. 
The  Goat  felt  very  grateful  that  his  life  had  been 
spared  for  a  few  more  happy  summers ;  and  when  he 
found  himself  free,  the  first  thing  he  did  was  to  go  into 
the  forest  to  see  if  he  could  find  some  means  of  repaying 
the  Butcher's  kind  deed. 

As  he  trotted  along  under  the  trees,  stopping  now 
and  then  to  crop  some  tender  shoot  that  came  within 
reach,  he  met  a  Jackal. 

"  I  am  glad  to  see  you.  Goatee,"  said  the  Jackal ; 
"and  now  I'm  going  to  eat  you." 

8i 


82  The  Grateful  Goat 

"  Don't  be  such  a  fool,"  said  the  Goat.  "  Can't  you 
see  I  am  nothing  but  skin  and  bones  ?  Wait  till  I  get 
fat.  That's  why  I  am  here,  just  to  get  fat;  and  when 
I'm  nice  and  fat,  you  may  eat  me  and  welcome." 

The  Goat  was  very  skinny,  in  truth,  and  he  pulled 
in  his  breath  to  make  himself  look  more  skinny.  So  the 
Jackal  said — 

"All  right,  look  sharp,  and  be  sure  you  look  out  for 
me  on  your  way  back." 

"  I  shan't  forget,  Jackal,"  said  the  Goat.     "Ta  ta  ! " 

By-and-by  he  fell  in  with  a  Wolf. 

"Ha!"  said  the  Wolf,  smacking  his  lips;  "here's 
what  I  want.  Get  ready,  my  Goat,  for  I  am  going  to 
eat  you." 

"Oh,  surely  not,"  said  the  Goat;  "a  skinny  old 
thing  like  me  ! "  He  drew  in  his  breath  again,  and 
looked  very  skinny  indeed.  "  I  have  come  here  to 
fatten  myself,  and  when  I'm  fat,  you  shall  eat  me  if 
you  like." 

"  Well,"  said  the  Wolf,  "  you  don't  look  like  a  prize 
Goat,  I  grant  you.  Go  along  then,  but  look  out  for  me 
when  you  come  back." 

"  Oh,  I  shall  look  out  for  you  1 "  said  the  Goat,  and 
away  he  trotted. 

By-and-by  he  came  to  a  church.  He  went  into  the 
church,  and  there  he  saw  last  Sunday's  collection  plate, 
full  of  gold  coins.  In  that  country,  any  one  would  have 
been  ashamed  to  put  coppers  into  the  plate,  not  because 
they  were  rich,  for  they  were  not,  but  because  they  were 
generous.  Now,  Goats  are  not  taught  that  they  must 
not  steal,  but  they  think  they  have  a  right  to  whatever 
they  can  get  hold  of ;  so  this  Goat  opened  his  mouth, 


The  Grateful   Goat  83 

and  licked  up  all  the  sovereigns,  and  hid  them  under 
his  tongue. 

The  Goat  next  went  to  a  flower-shop,  and  asked  the 
man  who  sold  the  flowers  to  make  some  wreaths,  and 
cover  him  up  with  them,  horns  and  all.  So  the  man 
covered  him  up  with  flowers,  till  he  looked  like  a  large 
rose-bush.  Then  the  Goat  popped  out  a  sovereign  from 
his  mouth,  to  pay  the  man,  and  very  glad  the  man  was 
to  get  so  much  for  his  roses. 

Then  the  Goat  set  out  on  his  homeward  way.  He 
looked  out  for  the  Wolf,  as  he  had  promised  to  do  ; 
and  when  the  Wolf  saw  him  coming  along,  he  thought 
he  was  a  rose-bush.  The  Wolf  was  not  at  all  surprised 
to  see  a  rose-bush  walking  along  the  road,  for  many 
were  the  strange  things  he  had  seen  in  his  life  ;  and  if 
you  come  to  think  of  it,  this  was  no  stranger  than  a 
Goat  that  could  talk  English. 

"  Good  afternoon.  Rose-bush,"  said  the  Wolf ;  "  have 
you  seen  a  Goat  passing  this  way  ?  " 

"  Oh  yes,"  said  the  Goat,  "  I  saw  him  a  few  minutes 
ago  back  there  along  the  road." 

"  Many  thanks,  Rose-bush,"  said  the  Wolf ;  "  I  am 
much  obliged  to  you,"  and  away  he  ran  in  the  direction 
in  which  the  Goat  had  come. 

By-and-by  he  came  to  the  Jackal. 

"  Hullo,  Rose-bush  !  "  said  the  Jackal.  "  Have  you 
seen  a  Goat  anywhere  as  you  came  along  ?  " 

"  Oh  yes,"  replied  the  Goat,  out  of  the  roses  ;  "  I 
saw  him  just  now,  and  he  was  talking  to  a  big  Wolf." 

"Good  heavens!"  said  the  Jackal,  "I  must  look 
sharp,  if  I  want  some  Goat  to-day,"  and  off  he  galloped, 
in  a  great  hurry. 


84  The  Grateful  Goat 

In  the  evening  he  got  to  the  Butcher's  house. 
"Hullo!"  said  the  Butcher,  "what  have  we  here?" 
He  knew  that  rose-bushes  could  not  walk,  but  he  could 
not  make  out  what  it  was  at  all. 

"  Baa  !  baa  !  "  said  the  Goat  ;  "  it's  your  grateful  old 
Goat,  come  back  to  pay  you  for  your  kindness."  And 
with  these  words,  he  spouted  out  all  the  sovereigns  he 
found  in  the  church,  except  the  one  he  paid  to  the 
flower-man. 

The  Butcher  was  delighted  to  see  so  many  sovereigns  : 

he  asked  no  questions,  because  he  thought  it  wiser.     He 

took  the  sovereigns,  and  found  they  were  enough 

to  keep  him  all  his  life,  without  killing  any 

more  goats.     So  he  lived  in  peace,  and 

the  Goat  spent  his  remaining  years 

browsing  comfortably  in  the 

Butcher's  paddock. 


The   Cunning  Jackal 

Or,  The  Biter  Bit 


JACKAL  lived  on  one  side  of  a  deep  river, 
and  on  the  other  side  were  fields  upon  fields 
/iiy      of    ripe   melons.      The    Jackal    was    always 
/J  \      hungry,  and  he  had  eaten  everything  within 
reach  ;  so  he  used  to  sit  on  the  river  bank 
and    bemoan    his    luck.       "All    those    ripe 
melons,"  said  he,  "  and  nobody  to  eat  them 
but  men.    It  is  really  a  shame.     I  don't  know 
what  Providence  is  doing,  to  treat  me  so  scurvily." 

Perhaps  Providence  knew  what  it  was  about,  and 
the  Jackal,  as  you  shall  hear,  deserved  no  better  than 
he  got. 

As  he  sat  one  day  by  the  river,  moaning  and  groan- 
ing, a  big  Tortoise  popped  up  his  funny  head  out  of 
the  water.  There  was  a  big  tear  in  each  of  the  Tortoise's 
round  eyes. 

The  Jackal  stopped  moaning  and  groaning  when  he 
saw  the  Tortoise.  "  What's  the  matter.  Shelly  ?  "  said 
he.     "  Aren't  you  well  ?  " 

"  Quite  well,  thank  you,"  said  the  Tortoise,  and  the 

tears  slowly  rolled  down  his  nose.     He  was   going  to 

85 


86  The  Cunning  Jackal 

call  the  Jackal  Snarly,  which  was  the  nickname  the 
Jackal  went  by  ;  but  he  thought  better  of  it,  because  it 
would  have  been  rather  rude.  All  the  same,  he  did  not 
like  being  called  Shelly  in  that  offhand  way. 

"  Wife  and  brats  all  right  ?  "  asked  the  Jackal.  "  No 
measles  or  mumps  ?  " 

This  was  also  very  rude  of  the  Jackal,  because  a 
Tortoise  is  sensitive  about  mumps.  If  he  gets  mumps 
when  his  head  is  inside  his  shell,  he  jan't  put  it  out ; 
and  if  his  head  is  outside,  that  is  still  worse,  for  it  swells 
up  so  that  he  can't  get  it  in  again. 

"  No,  thank  you,  my  wife  is  all  right,"  said  the 
Tortoise,  who  was  rather  confused  ;  "at  least,  she  would 
be  all  right  if  I  had  one,  but  that's  just  it — I  can't  get 
a  wife  !  Nobody  will  look  at  me  !  and  that  is  my  trouble," 
and  two  more  big  tears  trickled  down  his  nose. 

At  this  moment  an  idea  came  into  the  Jackal's  crafty 
head.  "What  a  pity  you  didn't  tell  me  before,"  said 
he ;  "I  could  easily  have  found  you  a  wife  last  week, 
but  now  she  has  gone  to  live  on  the  other  side  of  the 
river." 

"  Do  you  really  mean  it  ?  "  said  the  Tortoise. 

"Honour  bright,"  answered  the  Jackal;  "do  I  look 
like  a  person  who  would  tell  a  lie  ?  "  He  certainly  did, 
only  the  Tortoise  was  too  simple  to  see  it. 

The  Tortoise  rubbed  away  his  tears  on  a  stump,  for 
he  had  no  handkerchief,  and  brightened  up  considerably. 

"  I  can  carry  you  across,  friend,"  said  he,  "  if  you 
will  jump  on  my  back." 

The  Jackal  wanted  nothing  better,  so  down  he  jumped 
on  the  back  of  the  Tortoise,  and  the  Tortoise  swam 
across.     When  they  got  across,  the  Tortoise  was  quite 


The  Cunning  Jackal  87 

tired,  because  the  Jackal  was  very  heavy  for  a  Tortoise 
to  carry. 

A  fine  time  the  Jackal  had  on  the  further  side  of  the 
river.  He  ran  about  among  the  fields,  and  ate  melons 
till  he  was  nearly  bursting.  Every  day  the  Tortoise 
came  to  the  bank,  asking  whether  the  match  was  yet 
arranged,  and  every  day  the  Jackal  told  him  that  all 
was  going  well.  ''You  have  no  notion  how  pleased 
they  are,"  said  the  Jackal.  "Just  see  how  fat  I  am 
getting.  They  feed  me  like  a  fighting-cock,  all  because 
of  you."  It  was  indeed  because  of  the  Tortoise  that  the 
Jackal  was  so  well  fed,  but  not  as  he  meant  it. 

By-and-by  the  season  of  melons  came  to  an  end, 
and  all  that  the  Jackal  had  left  were  cut  and  sold  in  the 
market.  Melons  were  dear  that  season,  because  the 
Jackal  had  eaten  so  many  of  them  before  they  could 
be  cut.  Then  the  Jackal  stole  a  white  dress  and  a  veil, 
and  hung  them  on  the  stump  of  a  tree  which  stood  near 
the  river  side ;  and  next  day,  when  the  Tortoise  popped 
his  funny  head  out  of  the  water,  said  the  Jackal — 

"There's  your  wife  at  last,  old  Shelly!  There  she 
stands,  dumb  as  a  stone.  Not  a  word  will  she  have  to 
say  to  you  till  I  am  out  of  the  way,  because  she  is 
too  modest.  Come,  hurry  up,  Shell-fish,  and  take  me 
across." 

The  Tortoise  was  angry  at  being  called  a  shell-fish, 
because  tortoises  are  not  fish  at  all,  and  they  feel  insulted 
if  you  call  them  so.  However,  he  was  so  glad  to  get 
a  wife  at  last,  that  he  said  nothing,  only  presented  his 
back  for  the  Jackal  to  jump  on.  Flop  !  came  the  Jackal, 
so  heavy  by  this  time  that  it  was  all  the  Tortoise  could 
do  to  get  him  across  safely.     If   he   was  tired   before, 


The  Cunning  Jackal 


he  was  nearly  dead  now.  But  he  swam  across  at  last ; 
and  the  Jackal  ran  off  into  the  forest,  chuckling  at  the 
simplicity  of  the  poor  Tortoise. 

Back  went  our  Tortoise  across  the  river,  and  climbed 
up  on  the  bank. 

"Wife  I "  he  called  out,  in  a  tender  voice. 

No  answer. 

Again  he  called  "  Wife  ! "  but  still  no  answer. 

He  could  not  make  it  out  a  bit.  He  crawled  up  to 
the  stump  which  the  Jackal  had  decked  out  in  wedding 
finery,  and  put  out  his  flapper  to  touch  his  wife's  hand  : 
lo  and  behold,  it  was  only  an  old  tree-stump. 

The  rage  of  the  Tortoise  knew  no  bounds,  and  he 
determined  to  have  his  revenge. 

Next  day  the  Jackal  came  down  to  drink  at  the  river. 
The  Tortoise  was  watching  for  him  under  water ;  and 
while  the  Jackal  was  drinking,  the  Tortoise  nipped  his 
teeth  into  the  Jackal's  leg. 

How  the  Jackal  did  howl,  to  be  sure  !  He  was  a 
great  coward,  and  even  used  to  cry  when  his  teeth  were 
pulled  out  by  the  dentist.  So  now  he  howled  at  the 
top  of  his  voice,  "  Let  me  go  !  Let  me  go  !  " 

But  the  Tortoise  held  on  like  grim  death.     He  was 

too  weak  to  pull  the  Jackal  under,  but  he  was  too  heavy 

for  the  Jackal  to  pull  out ;   so  there  he  bides  his  time. 

By-and-by  the  tide  began  to  rise.     The  tide  rose  to  the 

Jackal's  middle,  it  rose  to  his  head  ;  and  his  last  howls 

came  up  from  underneath  the  water  in  big 

bubbles,  which   showed  that  the  crafty 

Jackal   would  play  his   mean 

tricks  never  more. 


The  Farmer's  A 


ss 


IHERE  was  once  a  Farmer,  who 
had  an  Ass.  It  was  the  habit  of 
this  Ass  to  hft  up  his  voice  and 
bray,  whenever  he  heard  the 
church  bells  a-ringing.  Now  in 
the  country  where  this  Farmer 
Hved,  they  used  to  believe  that  a 
man's  soul   passes  when  he  dies 

into   an   animal,  or  something   else.      So   this    Farmer 

thought  that  any  Ass  that  was  fond   of   church  bells, 

must  have    been   a    great   saint   in    some    former   life. 

Accordingly,  he  named  his  Ass  St.  Anthony. 

All  his  life  long,  this  Ass  served  the  Farmer  faithfully, 

and  earned  him  a  great  deal  of  money. 

At  last  the  Ass  died  of  old  age. 

The  Farmer  was  very  sad  and  sorry 

when  his  Ass  died.      "  My  Ass   served 

me  faithfully,"  said  he,  "and  it's  only 

fair  he   should    have  a   good   funeral." 

So  he  sent  for  the  undertaker,  and  told 

him  to  make  a  big  coffin,  and  put  it  on 

a  hearse,  and  buried  the  Ass  with  great 

splendour.     Then   he   shaved   off  every   scrap   of   hair 

from  his  head,  as  the  custom  was  in  those  parts  when 

anybody  died,  and  gave  a  funeral  feast  to  all  his  relations, 

and  dressed  himself  in  black. 


90  The   Farmer's   Ass 

Next  time  he  went  to  the  Grocer's  to  buy  sugar,  the 
Grocer  noticed  his  head  shaved  bare,  and  the  black 
clothes,  so  he  knew  some  one  must  be  dead,  a  relation 
or  a  great  friend. 

"  I  am  sorry  to  see  you  have  lost  some  one,"  said 
he  ;  "  who  is  it  ?  " 

"  St.  Anthony  is  dead,"  said  the  Farmer. 

"  Dear  me,"  said  the  Grocer,  "  and  I  never  heard 
of  it.  How  very  sad  ! "  Thought  he  to  himself,  "  I 
had  best  have  my  head  shaved  too,  or  else  people  will 
call  me  hard-hearted." 

So  when  the  Farmer  had  bought  his  sugar,  and  was 
gone,  the  Grocer  went  to  the  Barber  and  had  his  head 
shaved.     Then  he  put  on  a  black  coat  and  necktie. 

By-and-by  a  Soldier  came  to  have  a  chat  with  his 
friend  the  Grocer. 

"  Ods  bobs  !  "  said  he,  "  what's  the  matter,  man  ?  " 

"  St.  Anthony  is  dead,"  said  the  Grocer  solemnly, 
and  wiped  away  a  tear. 

"  You  don't  say  so,"  said  the  Soldier.  Off  he  went 
straight  to  the  Barber,  and  made  him  shave  his  head  ; 
then  he  bought  a  piece  of  crape  to  tie  round  his  left  arm. 

He  told  the  news  to  all  the  men  of  his  regiment, 
and  they  all  felt  so  much  sympathy  with  this  soldier 
that  they  shaved  their  heads  too. 

Next  day  on  parade,  there  was  the  whole  regiment 
shaved  to  a  man. 

"What's  the  meaning  of  this  ?"  asked  the  General. 

The  Sergeant  saluted,  and  told  him  that  St.  Anthony 
was  dead. 

"  Is  he  ?  By  Jove,"  said  the  General,  "  then  I  dismiss 
this  parade,"  and  off  he  galloped  on  his  war-horse  to 


The   Farmer's  Ass  91 

the  nearest  Barber,  who  shaved  his  head  like  the  men's. 
On  the  way  back,  he  saw  the  Prime  Minister  going  to 
Court.  "  May  I  ask,"  said  the  Prime  Minister  suavely, 
"to  what  untoward  circumstance  is  due  the  erasure  of 
your  capillary  covering  ?  " 

"  St.  Anthony  is  dead,"  answered  the  General. 

"Dear,  dear,"  said  the  Prime  Minister,  "you  don't 
say  so.  He  was  doubtless  an  ornament  to  the  party, 
and  it  is  meet  that  I  should  testify  my  respect."  Then 
the  Prime  Minister  too  went  off  to  get  his  head  shaved, 
and  appeared  before  the  King  without  a  single  hair. 

"What's  the  matter?"  asked  the  King;  "anybody 
dead,  hey,  hey,  hey  ?  " 

"  If  it  please  your  Majesty,"  said  the  Prime  Minister, 
"  St.  Anthony  is  dead." 

"  What  a  loss  for  our  kingdom,"  said  the  King ; 
"  what  a  loss  !  what  a  loss  !  Excuse  me  a  moment," 
and  away  he  went  to  get  his  head  shaved. 

When  the  Queen  saw  him,  she  wanted  to  know  why 
his  head  was  shaved. 

"  St.  Anthony  is  dead,"  answered  the  King. 

"  And  who  is  St.  Anthony  ?  "  asked  the  Queen. 

"  I  don't  know  who  he  is,"  said  the  King,  "  a  friend 
of  the  Prime  Minister's." 

So  the  Prime  Minister  was  asked  who  St.  Anthony 
was ;  and  replied  that  he  did  not  himself  know  him, 
but  the  General  spoke  of  him  in  the  highest  terms. 
The  General  said  that  St.  Anthony  was  not  a  personal 
friend,  but  he  was  well  known  in  the  regiment.  After 
inquiry  amongst  the  men,  it  was  found  that  only  one 
of  them  could  tell  anything  about  St.  Anthony,  and 
all  he  knew  was  that  his  friend  the  Grocer  shaved  his 


92 


The   Farmer's  Ass 


head  in  memory  of  him.      The  Grocer  referred  them 
to  the  Farmer,  and  the  Farmer  was  out  in  the  fields. 
Then  the  King  sent  a  messenger  on  horseback  to 
find  the  Farmer  and  bring  him  to  court. 
The  Farmer  was  brought  into  court,  and 
when  he  saw  the   King  and  the  Prime 
Minister  and  General  all  in  mourning,  he 
was  very  much  surprised.    The  King  said 
to  him,  "  Farmer,  who  is  St.  Anthony  ?  " 
"  If   it  please   your   Majesty,  he  was 
my  Ass." 

The  King,  and  the  Prime  Minister,  and  the  General 
felt  very  foolish   to    have   gone   into   mourning  for  an 
Ass.    They  put  off  their  black  clothes,  but  it  was  not 
so  easy  to  get  their  hair  back  again ;  and  so  for  a 
month  or  two  the  King,  and  the  Prime  Minis- 
ter, and  the  General,  and  all  the  regiment  of 
Body  Guards,  went  about  in  wigs. 


The   Parrot  Judge 


1         vy^-n.^     y^-^-^l 

i 

HERE  was  once  a  Fowler  who 
caught  a  young  Parrot.  He  kept 
the  Parrot  in  his  house,  hoping 
that  it  would  pick  up  something  to 
say,  but  the  Parrot  learnt  nothing 
at  all.  Then  he  set  to  work  at 
teaching  it ;  but  after  six  months 
the  Parrot  had  only  learnt  to  say 
two  things  :  one  was  "  Of  course,"  and  the  other  was 
"  Certainly." 

Seeing  that  his  trouble  was  wasted,  the  Fowler  took 
him  to  market  in  a  gilt  cage,  in  order  to  catch  the 
eye  of  customers.  He  cried  in  a  loud  voice,  "Who'll 
buy  !  who'll  buy  !  here's  a  Parrot  which  can  say  any- 
thing in  the  world  !  Here's  a  clever  Parrot  who  knows 
what  he  is  talking  about !  If  you  want  a  question 
answered  here's  the  Parrot  to  answer  you,  no  matter 
what  it  may  be  !  Who'll  buy,  who'll  buy  ? "  Every- 
body crowded  round  to  see  the  wonderful  Parrot. 

The  King  happened  to  be  passing  by,  and  heard  all 
this  to-do  about  a  Parrot.     Said  he  to  the  Fowler — 
"Is  it  really  true  about  your  Parrot  ? " 
"  Ask  him,  sire,"  said  the  Fowler. 

H  93 


94  The  Parrot  Judge 

"  Parrot,"  said  the  King,  "  do  you  know  English  ?  " 

"  Of  course,"  said  the  Parrot,  in  a  tone  of  scorn, 
turning  up  his  beak ;  as  who  should  say,  "  What  a 
question  to  ask  me." 

"  Can  you  decide  knotty  points  of  law  ?  "  the  King 
went  on. 

"  Certainly,"  said  the  Parrot,  with  great  confidence. 

"This  is  the  bird  for  me,"  said  the  King,  and  asked 
his  price.  The  price  was  a  thousand  pounds.  The 
King  paid  a  thousand  pounds  to  the  Fowler,  and 
departed. 

A  big  price,  you  will  say,  for  a  Parrot.  So  it  was ; 
but  the  King  had  a  reason  for  paying  it.  The  Judge 
of  the  City  had  just  died,  and  the  King  could  not  find 
another.  Hundreds  of  men  offered  to  do  the  work. 
Some  wanted  too  much  money,  more  than  the  King 
could  pay ;  some  were  reasonable,  but  knew  no  law ; 
and  the  cheaper  ones  who  professed  to  know  every- 
thing were  all  Germans,  whom  the  King  would  not 
have  at  any  price.  When  he  heard  of  this  wise  Parrot, 
thought  he,  "  Here's  my  Judge  ;  he  will  want  no  wages 
but  sugar  and  chickweed,  and  he  will  take  no  bribes." 

So  the  Parrot  was  made  Judge,  and  sat  on  a  big 
throne,  with  a  white  wig  and  a  red  robe  lined  with 
ermine. 

Next  day,  the  Parrot  was  in  Court,  and  a  case  came 
up  for  judgment.  It  was  a  murder  case,  and  when 
the  evidence  had  been  heard,  the  pleader  on  the 
murderer's  side  finished  up  his  speech  by  saying,  "And 
now,  my  Lord,  you  must  admit  that  my  client  is 
innocent." 

Said  the  Parrot,  "  Of  course." 


The  Parrot  Judge 


95 

because    the 


Everybody   thought    this   rather    odd, 
other  side  had  not  yet  been  heard  ;  and, 
besides,  the  man  was  caught  in  the  act. 
However,    they  held   their  tongues  and 
waited. 

Then  the  prosecutor  got  up,  and  made 
a  long  speech,  at  the  end  of  which  he 
said,  "It  is  no  longer  possible  to  doubt 
that  the  prisoner  at  the  bar  is  guilty. 
Two  witnesses  saw  him  do  the  deed,  and 
half-a-dozen  caught  him  just  as  he  was 
pulling  the  knife  out  of  the  body.  I 
therefore  call  upon  you,  my  Lord,  to 
pass  sentence  of  death." 

Said  the  Parrot,  "  Certainly." 

At  this  the  King  pricked  up  his  ears. 
The  man  could  not  be  innocent  of  course, 
and  yet  certainly  guilty,  at  the  same  time. 
So  he  turned  to  the  Judge  and  said — 

"  If  you  go  against  evidence  so  clear, 
Judge,  I  shall  begin  to  suspect  that  you 
killed  the  man  yourself." 

Said  the  Parrot,  "  Certainly." 

You  may  imagine  the  hubbub  that 
arose  in  Court  when  the  Judge  said 
this !  Everybody  saw  that  the  King 
had  made  a  mistake  in  his  Judge,  and 
even  the  King  himself  began  to  suspect 
that  something  was  wrong.  So  he  said, 
rather  angrily,  to  the  Parrot — 

"  Then  it  is  your  head  ought  to  be  chopped  off." 

Said  the  Parrot,  "  Of  course." 


96 


The  Parrot  Judge 


"  Chop  off  his  head,  then,"  cried  the  King ;   and  they 

took  away  the  Parrot  and  chopped  off  his  head 

without  delay  ;    and  all  the  while  he  was 

being  dragged  along,  he  called  out, 

"Certainly,"  "Certainly," 

"  Certainly." 


The  Frog  and  the  Snake 


FROG  and  a  Snake  had  a  quarrel 
as  to  which  could  give  the  more 
deadly  bite.  They  agreed  to  try  it 
on  the  next  opportunity. 

A  Man  came  to  bathe  in  the 

pond  where  these   two   creatures 

lived.     The  Snake  bit  him  under 

the  water,  while  the  Frog  floated 

"  Something  has  bitten  me  ! "  the  Man  called 


on  the  top. 

out  to  his  friends. 

"  What  is  it  ?  "  they  asked. 

Then  he  saw  the  Frog  swimming  on  the  top  of  the 
water.  "  Oh,  it's  only  a  Frog,"  said  he.  Then  he  went 
away,  and  no  harm  came  of  it. 

The  next  time  that  Man  came  to  bathe  in  the  pond, 
the  Frog  bit  him  under  the  water,  while  the  Snake  swam 
on  the  top. 

"Oh  dear  !  "  said  the  Man,  "a  Snake  has  bitten  me  ! " 
The  Man  died. 

"  Now,"  said  the  Frog,  "  you  will  admit  that  my  bite 
is  more  poisonous  than  yours." 

"  I  deny  it  altogether,"  said  the  Snake. 

So  they  agreed  to  refer  their  dispute  to  the  King  of 
the  Snakes.     The  Snake  King  listened  to  their  arguments, 

97 


98  The  Frog  and  the  Snake 

and  decided  in  favour  of  the  Snake,  and  said  the  Man 
had  died  of  fright. 

"Of  course,"  grumbled  the  Frog,  "the  Snake  King 
sides  with  the  Snake." 

So  both  of  them  bit  the  Frog,  and  he  died,  and 
that  was  the  end  of  him. 


Little  Miss  Mouse  and 
her  Friends 


HERE  was  once  a  little  Lady- 
Mouse  that  lived  in  a  field.  She 
was  all  alone  in  the  world,  a  little 
old  maid,  and  she  very  much 
wanted  a  friend.  But  every  crea- 
ture turned  up  his  nose  at  the 
poor  little  Mouse,  and  not  a  friend 
could  she  get ;  until  at  last  a  Clod 
of  earth  took  pity  upon  her.  Then  the  Mouse  and  the 
Clod  became  firm  friends,  and  went  about  everywhere 
together.  The  Mouse  walked  upon  her  four  legs,  and 
the  Clod  rolled  along  like  a  cricket  ball. 

One  day  the  Mouse  wanted  a  bathe ;  and  nothing 
would  serve,  but  the  Clod  must  go  bathe  along  with  her. 
In  vain  the  Clod  protested  that  she  did  not  like  water ; 
that  she  had  never  washed  in  her  life ;  that  she  could 
not  swim  :  Miss  Mousie  would  take  no  denial,  and  said 
severely,  that  if  the  Clod  had  never  washed  before,  it 
was  high  time  to  begin.  So  at  length  the  Clod  was 
persuaded,  and  into  the  river  they  went.  Mousie  went 
in  first,  and  the  Clod  rolled  in  afterwards  ;  but  no  sooner 
had  the  poor  Clod  rolled  into  the  river,  than  what  was 


I02  Little  Miss   Mouse 

Miss  Mousie's  horror  to  see  her  melt  away  in  the  water, 
and  disappear. 

Mousie  was  now  friendless  again,  and  loudly  com- 
plained to  the  River  that  he  had  stolen  away  her  favourite 
Clod. 

"  I  am  very  sorry,"  the  River  said  ;  "  I  really  couldn't 
help  melting  a  thing  so  soft.  I  can't  give  you  back  your 
Clod,  but  I  will  give  you  a  Fish  instead." 

This  comforted  Mousie,  and  she  took  her  Fish  and 
went  home.  Then  she  put  the  Fish  on  the  top  of  a  post, 
to  dry.  Down  swooped  a  big  Kite,  and  flew  away  with 
the  Fish. 

"  O  my  poor  Fish,"  wailed  Miss  Mousie,  "  to  be  taken 
away  before  we  had  a  word  together."  Then  she  went 
to  the  Post,  and  demanded  her  Fish  back  again.  "  I 
gave  him  to  you,"  said  Mousie,  "and  you  are  respon- 
sible for  him." 

Said  the  Post,  "  I  am  very  sorry  that  I  cannot  give 
you  back  your  Fish,  but  I  will  give  you  some  Wood." 

Mousie  was  grateful  for  this  kindness  on  the  part  of 
the  Post.  So  she  took  a  piece  of  Wood  in  exchange  for 
the  Fish. 

Mousie  and  the  Wood  went  off  to  buy  some  sweets 
at  the  Confectioner's.  While  Mousie  was  eating  the 
sweets,  the  Confectioner's  wife  burnt  the  Wood  in  the 
fire. 

Mousie  finished  the  sweets,  and  when  she  turned 
round  to  look  for  her  Wood,  lo  and  behold  it  was  gone. 
With  tears  in  her  eyes  she  begged  the  Confectioner's  wife 
to  give  her  back  the  Wood,  but  the  Confectioner's  wife 
said — 

"  I  am  very  sorry  I  cannot  give  you  back  the  Wood, 


Little  Miss  Mouse  103 

because  it  is  burnt ;  but  I  will  give  you  some  Cakes 
instead." 

This  made  Miss  Mousie  happy  again,  and  she  took 
the  Cakes.  Then  she  paid  a  visit  to  the  Shepherd's  pen  ; 
and  while  she  was  talking  to  the  Shepherd,  a  Goat  ate 
up  her  cakes. 

"  Give  me  back  my  Cakes,  Mr.  Shepherd,"  said  Mousie, 
not  seeing  the  Cakes  anywhere. 

"  I'm  very  sorry  I  can't  do  that,"  answered  the  Shep- 
herd, "because  I  am  afraid  one  of  my  goats  has  eaten 
them  ;  but  if  you  like,  you  may  have  a  Kid  instead." 

This  was  better  and  better.  Mousie  was  charmed 
with  her  Kid  and  led  it  off  to  the  music-shop,  where 
she  had  to  pay  a  bill.  While  the  man  was  writing  a 
receipt  to  the  bill,  his  wife  killed  the  Kid,  and  began  to 
roast  it  for  dinner.  Mousie  looked  round,  and  wanted 
to  know  where  her  Kid  was  ? 

"  I  rather  think,"  said  the  Music-man,  "  that  the  nice 
odour  of  roast  meat  which  tickles  your  nostrils,  comes 
from  that  Kid.  I'm  sorry  I  can't  give  you  the  Kid  back, 
but  you  may  have  the  best  drum  in  my  shop." 

Mousie  did  not  like  the  Drum  so  well  as  her  Kid  ;  but 
needs  must,  and  she  picked  out  a  drum,  and  went  away 
with  it  on  her  shoulder.  By-and-by  she  came  to  a  place 
where  women  were  beating  rice,  to  get  the  grains 
away  from  the  husk.  She  hung  up  her  Drum  on  a  peg, 
while  she  watched  the  women  husking  the  rice.  Bang ! 
flap  !  a  woman  drove  her  pestle  right  through  the  Drum. 

Poor  Mousie.  It  seemed  as  if  her  misfortunes  would 
never  end.  When  she  asked  the  woman  for  her  Drum 
again,  there  it  was,  burst.  The  tears  ran  down  her 
cheeks. 


I04 


Little   Miss  Mouse 


"We  are  very  sorry,"  the  women  all  said,  "that  we 
cannot  give  you  back  your  Drum  ;  but  you  can  have  a 
Girl  instead,  if  you  like." 

This  brought  smiles  to  Miss  Mousie's  sad  face,  and 

she  dried  her  tears.     The  women  gave  her  a  nice  Girl, 

and  Mousie  took  the  Girl  home.     They  set  up   house 

together,  and  planted  a  crop  of  corn.     The  corn  ripened, 

and  they  went  out  to  cut  it.      Miss  Mouse  was  a 

wee  mousie,  and  was  quite  hidden  among  the 

stalks  of   the  corn.      While   the  Girl  was 

cutting  the  corn  with  a  sickle,  she  did 

not  see  poor  little  Mousie,  so  she 

cut  her  in  two,  and  that 

was  the  end 

of  her. 


The  Jackal  that   Lost  his  Tail 


^ 

1 

HERE   was   once   a    Farmer,  who 
used  to  go  out  every  morning  to 
work    in    his    field,   and    his   wife 
used  to  bring  him  dinner  at  noon. 
One  day,  as  the  Farmer's  wife  was 
carrying  out  the  dinner  to  the  field, 
she  met  a  Jackal,  who  said — 
"  Where  are  you  going  ?  " 
Said  she,  "  To  my  husband,  and  this  is  his  dinner." 
Said  the  Jackal,  "  Give  me  some,  or  I  will  bite  you." 
So  the  woman  had  to  give  the  Jackal  some  of  this 
food.     And  when  her  husband  saw  it,  he  said — 

"What  a   small   dinner   you   have   brought   me   to- 
day ! " 

'*  A  Jackal  met  me,"  replied  his  wife,  "and  threatened 
to  bite  me  if  I  gave  him  none." 

"All  right,"  said  the  Farmer,  "to-morrow  I'll  settle 
with  that  Jackal." 

On  the  morrow,  the   Farmer's  wife  went   after  the 
plough,  and  the  Farmer  dressed  up  in  her  clothes  and 
carried  out  the  dinner.     Again  the  Jackal  appeared. 
"Give  me  some  of  that,"  said  he,  "or  I'll  bite  you." 
"Yes,  yes,  good   Mr.  Jackal,"   said  the  man,  "you 

shall  have  some,  only  don't  bite  me." 

105 


io6  The  Jackal  that  Lost  his  Tail 

Then  he  set  down  the  plate  and  the  Jackal  began 
to  eat. 

"Just  scratch  my  back,  you,  woman,"  said  the  Jackal, 
"while  I  am  eating  my  dinner." 

"Yes,  sir;  yes,  sir,"  said  the  man.  He  began  gently 
to  tickle  and  scratch  the  back  of   the  Jackal,  and  in 

the  middle,  suddenly  out 
with  his  knife,  and  slish  ! 
cut  off  the  Jackal's  tail. 

The  Jackal  jumped  up 
and  capered  about.  "Yow- 
ow-ow  ! "  he  went,  "  what 
has  come  to  my  tail  ?  Oh 
dear !  how  shall  I  swish 
away  the  flies  ?  Oh  dear, 
how  it  hurts  !  Yow-ow- 
ow  ! "  Away  he  scuttled,  as  fast 
as  his  legs  could  carry  him. 

When  he  got  home,  all  the 
Jackals  came  round  him,  and 
asked  what  had  become  of  his 
tail.  The  Jackal  was  ashamed 
to  have  lost  his  tail,  which  was 
a  particularly  long  and  fine  tail ; 
but  he  pretended  to  like  it. 

"  Poor     fellow  ! "     said     the 
Jackals,  "where  is  your  tail?" 

"  I  had  it  cut  off,"  said  the  Jackal,  "  and  good 
riddance.  It  was  always  in  my  way.  Why,  I  never 
could  sit  down  in  comfort,  and  now  look  here!"  He 
sat  down  on  the  place  where  his  tail  used  to  be,  and 
looked  proudly  round.     "  Now,  you  try  ! "  said  he. 


The  Jackal  that  Lost  his  Tail  107 

They  all  tried,  and  found  that  their  tails  got  under- 
neath them  when  they  sat,  and  it  hurt  their  tails  rather. 

"  We  never  thought  of  that  before,"  said  they  ;  "  we 
must  get  rid  of  these  things.     Who  cut  off  yours  ?  " 

"  A  kind  Farmer's  wife,"  said  the  first  Jackal.  Then 
he  told  them  where  the  Farmer's  wife  lived. 

That  evening,  a  knock  came  at  the  Farmer's  door, 
as  the  Farmer  and  his  wife  were  sitting  at  tea. 

"  Come  in  ! "  said  the  Farmer. 

The  door  opened,  and  in  trooped  a  number  of 
Jackals.  "  Please,  Mr.  Farmer,"  said  they,  "  we  want  you 
kindly  to  cut  off  our  tails." 

"  Willingly,"  said  the  Farmer ;  whipt  out  his  knife, 
and  in  a  jiffy  slish  !  slish  !  slish  !  off  came  the  Jackals' 
tails. 

"  Yow-ow-ow ! "  went  the  Jackals,  capering  about, 
"we  didn't  think  it  would  hurt!"  Away  they  went, 
and  all  the  woods  echoed  that  night  with  yowling  and 
howling. 

When  they  all  got  home,  they  found  the  first  Jackal 
waiting  for  them.  He  laughed  in  their  faces.  "  Now 
we're  all  alike,"  said  he,  "all  in  the  same  boat." 

"  Are  we  ?  "  said  the  other  Jackals,  and  set  on  him 
and  tore  him  to  pieces. 

"  Now  we  must  have  our  revenge  on  the  Farmer," 
said  the  Jackals  when  they  had  eaten  up  their  friend. 
So  next  morning  they  scampered  off  to  the  Farmer's 
house. 

The  Farmer  was  out,  and  his  wife  was  gathering 
fuel. 

"  Good  morning,  Mrs.  Farmer,"  said  the  Jackals  ;  "  we 
have  come  to  eat  the  Farmer  for  cutting  our  tails  off." 


io8  The  Jackal  that  Lost  his  Tail 

"Ah,  poor  fellow,"  said  the  Farmer's  wife,  "he  is 
dead.  When  he  saw  how  it  hurt  you  to  have  your  tails 
cut  off,  he  just  lay  down  on  the  bed,  and  died  of  grief." 

"That's  unlucky,"  said  the  Jackals. 

"But  we  are  preparing  the  funeral  feast,"  she  went 
on,  "  you  see  I  am  now  getting  fuel  for  it.  Will  you 
give  us  the  pleasure  of  your  company  to  dinner  ?  " 

"  Gladly,"  said  the  Jackals  ;  "we  should  like  to  see  the 
last  of  the  poor  fellow ; "  then  they  ran  away. 

At  dinner-time,  they  all  came  back,  and  found  chairs 
put  for  them,  and  plates  round  the  table,  with  the  woman 
at  one  end. 

"  You  can  sit  like  Christians  now,"  said  the  Farmer's 
wife,  "  so  I  have  set  you  a  chair  apiece." 

"Thanks,"  said  the  Jackals  ;  "that  is  thoughtful." 

"  But  I  know,"  the  Farmer's  wife  went  on,  "  what 
quarrelsome  creatures  you  are  over  your  meat.  Don't 
you  think  I  had  better  tie  you  to  your  chairs,  and  then 
each  will  have  to  keep  to  his  own  plateful  ?  " 

"A  good  plan,"  the  Jackals  said,  wagging  their  heads. 
They  had  now  no  tails  to  wag,  and  they  had  to  wag 
something.  So  the  Farmer's  wife  tied  them  tight  to 
their  chairs. 

"  But  how  shall  we  eat  ? "  said  the  Jackals,  who 
could  not  stir  a  paw. 

"  Oh,  no  fear  for  that,  I'll  feed  you." 

Then  she  brought  out  a  steaming  mess,  and  put  it 
in  the  middle  of  the  table.  All  the  Jackals  sniffed  at  the 
steam,  and  all  their  eyes  were  fixed  greedily  upon  the 
meat.     They  began  to  struggle. 

"  Softly,  softly,  good  Jackals ! "  said  the  Farmer's 
wife. 


The  Jackal  that  Lost  his  Tail  109 

But  what  a  surprise  awaited  the  Jackals  !  They  were 
so  intent  upon  watching  the  Farmer's  wife  and  the  meat, 
that  none  of  them  heard  the  door  open,  and  none  of 
them  saw  the  Farmer  himself  creep  softly  in,  with  a 
great  club  in  his  hand.  The  first  news  they  had  of  it 
was  crack  !  crack  !  crack  ! 

All  but  three  of  the  Jackals  looked  round,  and  they 

saw   these   three   of    their   comrades   with    their    heads 

smashed   in,  lolling  back  in   the  chairs.      The   Farmer 

held  the  club  poised  in  the  air  ;  down  it  came  crack  ! 

on  the  head  of  the  fourth  Jackal.     Then  all  the  others 

began  yowling  and  struggling  to  get  free ;  but  in  vain, 

the  cords  held  them  fast,  they  could  not  stir  ;  and  in 

live  minutes  all  the  Jackals  lay  dead  on  the  floor. 

After  that  the  Farmer  ploughed  in  peace, 

and  no  one  molested  the  Farmer's 

wife  when  she  brought 

his  dinner. 


The  Wily   Tortoise 


FOWLER  was  bird-catching  in  the  jungle, 
and  snared  a  wild  goose.  As  he  was 
carrying  home  his  goose,  he  sat  down  by 
a  pond.  In  this  pond  lived  a  Tortoise, 
and  the  Tortoise  put  up  his  nose  out  of 
the  pond  to  sniff  the  air.  He  saw  the 
Fowler  and  the  Goose,  and  being  a  very 
innocent  Tortoise,  he  feared  no  harm,  but 
began  to  waddle  towards  them. 

"  Take  care,  friend  ! "  said  the  Goose. 
"  This  Fowler  has  caught  me,  and  he  will  catch  you  ! " 

The  Tortoise  waddled  into  the  water  again.  "  Many 
thanks,  friend,"  said  he.  "One  good  turn  deserves 
another."  So  saying,  he  dived  down  into  the  pond, 
and  brought  up  a  ruby. 

"  Here,  Mr.  Fowler,"  said  he,  "  take  this  ruby,  and 
let  my  friend  the  Goose  go." 

The  Fowler  took  the  ruby,  but  he  was  very  greedy, 
so  he  said — 

"If  you  will  bring  me  a  pair  to  this,  I  will  let  the 
Goose  go." 

The  Tortoise  dived  down,  and  brought  up  another 
ruby.  Then  the  Fowler  let  go  the  Goose,  and  said 
to  the  Tortoise,  "  Now  hand  over  that  ruby." 


The  Wily  Tortoise 


III 


The  Tortoise  said,  "  Forgive  me,  I  have  made  a 
mistake,  and  brought  up  the  wrong  ruby.  Let  me 
see  the  first,  and  if  it  does  not  match,  I  will  try 
again." 

The  Fowler  gave  back  the  first  ruby.  "  As  I 
thought,"  said  the  Tortoise.  Down  he  dived  into  the 
pond. 

The  Fowler  waited  a  good  long  time,  but   nothing 

was  seen  of  the  Tortoise.     As  you  have  guessed,  when 

the  Tortoise  found  himself  safe  at  the  bottom 

of  the  pond,  he  stayed  there.    The  Fowler 

tore   his   hair,   and   went   home, 

wishing  he  had  not  been 

so  greedy. 


The  King  of  the  Mice 


]AR  away  in  the  forest  was  the  King- 
dom of  Mouseland.  There  was  a 
great  city,  where  every  Mouse  had 
his  Httle  house,  with  doors  and 
windows,  tables  and  chairs,  books 
for  the  grown-up  Mice,  and  toys 
for  the  children  ;  there  were  little 
shops,  where  the  Mice  bought 
clothes  and  food,  and  everything  they  wanted ;  there 
was  a  little  church  where  they  went  on  Sunday,  and  a 
reverend  little  Mouse  in  a  little  lawn  surplice  to  preach 
to  them ;  there  was  a  little  palace,  and  in  this  palace 
lived  the  little  Mouse  King. 

Now  it  happened  that  a  caravan  passed  through  the 
Kingdom  of  the  Mice,  Not  that  the  men  of  the  caravan 
knew  what  a  wonderful  kingdom  they  were  in.  They 
thought  it  was  just  like  any  other  part  of  the  forest,  and 
if  they  did  happen  to  pass  a  Mouse  fortress,  or  farmyard, 
they  thought  them  nothing  but  heaps  of  earth.  Just  so 
if  you  were  to  fly  up  in  a  balloon,  and  look  down  on 
your  own  house  from  the  air,  it  would  seem  like  a  little 
doll's-house,  not  fit  for  a  child  to  live  in.  This  caravan, 
as  I  have  said,  was  passing  through  Mouseland,  and 
encamped  in  part  of  it  once  to  spend  the  night.     One 


The  King  of  the  Mice  113 

of  the  Camels  was  very  sick,  and  as  the  owner  of  the 
Camel  thought  it  was  sure  to  die,  he  left  it  behind  when 
the  caravan  went  away. 

But  the  Camel  did  not  die ;  he  very  soon  got  as  well 
as  ever  he  was.  And  when  he  got  well  he  also  got 
hungry ;  so  he  strode  all  over  Mouseland,  eating  up  the 
crops  of  the  Mice,  and  treading  their  houses  down,  until 
at  last  he  came  to  the  Mouse  King's  park.  He  ate  a 
great  many  trees  in  the  Mouse  King's  park,  and  the 
Keeper  went  in  a  hurry  and  flurry  to  tell  the  King. 

"O  King,"  said  he,  "a  mountain  several  miles  high 
has  walked  into  your  park,  and  is  eating  everything  up." 

"  We  must  make  an  example  of  this  mountain,"  said 
the  King,  "or  the  whole  earth  may  be  moving  next. 
Sandy,"  said  he  to  his  Prime  Minister,  who  was  a  Fox, 
"go  and  fetch  that  mountain  to  me." 

So  Sandy  the  Prime  Minister  went  to  seek  the  moun- 
tain that  was  eating  the  King's  park.  Next  morning, 
back  he  came,  leading  the  Camel  by  his  nose-string. 

When  the  Camel  saw  how  little  the  King  of  the  Mice 
seemed  to  be,  he  began  to  grunt  and  gurgle,  and  sniffed 
with  his  funny  mouth.  You  know  a  Camel  has  a  mouth 
which  looks  as  though  it  had  two  slits  in  it,  of  the  shape 
of  a  cross ;  and  when  he  wants  to  show  his  contempt 
for  anything  he  pokes  out  his  mouth  like  a  four-leaved 
clover,  and  makes  you  feel  very  small.  "  Hullo,"  said 
the  Camel,  "  is  this  your  King  ?  I  thought  it  was  the 
Lion  who  sent  for  me.  I  would  never  have  come  for  a 
speck  like  this."  Then  he  turned  round,  and  walked  out 
of  court,  and  began  to  eat  everything  he  came  across. 

The  King  was  very  angry,  but  what  could  he  do? 
He  had  to  swallow  the  insult,  and  make  the  best  of  it. 


114  The  King  of  the  Mice 

However,  he  determined  to  watch  his  chance  of  revenge  ; 
and  soon  he  got  it.  For  after  a  few  days,  the  Camel's 
nose-string  became  entangled  in  a  creeper,  and  he  could 
not  get  away,  do  what  he  would.  Then  Sandy  the  Fox 
came  by,  and  saw  him  in  this  plight.  Imagine  his  joy 
to  see  his  enemy  at  his  mercy  !  Off  he  ran,  and  soon 
brought  the  King  to  that  place.     Then  the  King  said — 

"  O  Camel,  you  despised  my  words,  and  see  the  result. 
Your  sin  has  found  you  out." 

"  O  mighty  King,"  said  the  Camel,  quite  humble  now, 
"  indeed  I  confess  my  fault,  and  I  pray  you  to  forgive 
me.  If  you  will  only  save  me,  I  will  be  your  faithful 
servant." 

The  Mouse  King  was  not  of  a  spiteful  nature,  and  as 
soon  as  he  heard  the  Camel  ask  forgiveness  his  heart 
grew  soft.  He  climbed  up  the  creeper,  and  gnawed 
through  the  Camel's  nose-string,  and  set  the  Camel  free. 

The  Camel,  I  am  glad  to  say,  kept  his  word  ;  and  he 
became  a  servant  of  the  Mouse  King.  He  was  so  big 
and  strong  that  he  could  carry  loads  which  would  have 
needed  thousands  of  Mice  to  carry  ;  and  by  his  help  the 
King  made  very  strong  walls  and  forts  around  his  city, 
so  that  he  had  no  fear  of  enemies.  When  there  was 
nothing  else  to  do,  the  Camel  even  blacked  the  Mouse 
King's  boots,  rather  than  be  idle. 

So  things  went  on  for  a  long  time.  But  one  day 
some  Woodcutters  came  into  the  forest.  These  men 
lived  all  together  in  a  village  of  their  own,  and  they  used 
to  build  houses  of  wood.  When  anybody  wanted  a 
house,  he  told  the  Woodcutters,  and  they  used  to  leave 
their  village  and  go  into  the  woods.  Then  they  cut 
down  the  trees,  and  sawed  them  into  planks,  and  shaped 


The  King  of  the  Mice  115 

them  into  the  parts  of  a  house.  When  the  house  was 
finished,  they  put  numbers  on  all  the  parts,  and  took 
it  to  pieces  again,  and  put  it  on  a  raft ;  and  the  raft 
floated  down  the  great  river  to  the  place  where  the 
house  had  been  ordered.  Then  they  put  up  the  house 
in  a  very  short  time,  because  you  see  it  was  all  ready 
made,  and  only  had  to  be  put  together. 

These  Woodcutters,  then,  came  and  settled  for  a 
while  near  the  borders  of  Mouseland  ;  and  in  the  course 
of  their  wanderings  they  found  the  stray  Camel.  They 
promptly  seized  him,  and  carried  him  off. 

When  Sandy  told  the  King  what  had  happened,  the 
Mouse  King  was  very  angry  indeed.  He  sent  a  detach- 
ment of  his  bodyguard,  armed  cap-a-pie,  to  fetch  the 
Woodcutters  into  his  presence.  The  bodyguard  captured 
two  of  them,  and  led  them  back  bound.  Then  the  King 
demanded  his  Camel. 

"  Pooh,  silly  httle  Mouse,"  said  the  Woodcutters.  "  If 
you  want  it,  you  must  fetch  it." 

"I  will,"  said  the  King  of  the  Mice.  "Tell  your  chief, 
whoever  he  is,  that  I  hereby  declare  war  upon  him." 

The  Woodcutters  laughed,  and  went  away. 

Then  the  Mouse  King  gathered  together  all  his  sub- 
jects, millions  and  millions  of  sturdy  Mice  ;  and  they  set 
out  for  the  village  of  the  Woodcutters.  The  Woodcutters 
had  by  this  time  finished  their  job,  and  they  had  been 
paid  a  good  round  sum  of  money  for  it ;  and  the  money 
was  carefully  put  away,  with  all  the  other  money  they 
had,  in  a  treasury. 

Now  the  Mice  were  not  able  to  meet  big  Woodcutters 
in  the  field,  but  they  had  their  own  tactics.  Night  and 
day  they  burrowed  under  the  earth.     First  they  made 


ii6  The  King  of  the  Mice 

for  the  treasury ;  and  though  the  treasury  had  stone 
walls,  they  got  up  easily  through  the  floor,  where  no 
danger  was  expected,  and  one  by  one  they  carried  off 
every  coin  from  the  treasury,  until  it  was  as  bare  as  the 
palm  of  your  hand.  Then  they  got  underneath  all  the 
houses  of  the  village ;  and  thousands  and  millions  of 
Mice  were  busy  all  day  and  all  night  in  carrying  out 
little  baskets  of  earth  from  beneath  the  foundations. 
Thus  it  happened,  that  very  soon  the  Woodcutters' 
village  was  standing  on  a  thin  shell  of  earth,  and  under- 
neath it  was  a  great  hole. 

Now  was  the  time  to  strike  the  blow.  The  layer  of 
earth  was  so  thin,  that  the  least  shock  would  destroy  it. 
So  the  Mouse  King  wrote  a  letter  to  the  Woodcutter 
Chief,  asking  once  more  for  his  Camel,  and  in  the  letter 
he  hid  a  little  packet  of  snuff.  He  put  the  letter  in  the 
post,  and  waited. 

Next  day,  as  the  Woodcutter  Chief  was  sitting  in  his 
house,  the  postman  came  to  the  door — Rat-tat.  The 
footman  brought  in  a  letter,  and  the  Woodcutter  Chief 
opened  it.  He  read  it  through,  and  laughed.  Then  he 
waved  it  in  the  air,  and  said,  "  Let  them  come."  As  he 
waved  the  letter  in  the  air,  all  the  snuff  fell  out  of  it 
upon  his  nose.  The  Woodcutter  gave  a  terrific  sneeze, 
Tishoo  !  Tishoo  !  The  thin  shell  of  earth  could  not 
stand  the  shock  ;  it  trembled,  and  crumbled,  and  fell 
in,  and  all  the  Woodcutters  fell  in  too,  and  all  their 
village,  and  nothing  was  left  of  them  but  a  big  hole. 

Then  the  Mouse  King  and  his  army  went  back  to 
Mouseland  ;  and  though  they  never  got  the  old  Camel 
back  (for  he  was  swallowed  up  along  with  the  Wood- 
cutters), yet  no  one  ever  molested  Mouseland  again. 


The  Valiant  Blackbird 


BLACKBIRD  and  his  mate  lived 
together  on  a  tree.  The  Blackbird 
used  to  sing  very  sweetly,  and  one 
day  the  King  heard  him  in  pass- 
ing by,  and  sent  a  Fowler  to 
catch  him.  But  the  Fowler  made 
a  mistake  ;  he  did  not  catch  Mr. 
Blackbird,  who  sang  so  sweetly, 
but  Mrs.  Blackbird,  who  could  hardly  sing  at  all.  How- 
ever, he  did  not  know  the  difference,  to  look  at  her, 
nor  did  the  King  when  he  got  the  bird ;  but  a  cage 
was  made  for  Mrs.  Blackbird,  and  there  she  was  kept 
imprisoned. 

When  Mr.  Blackbird  heard  that  his  dear  spouse 
was  stolen,  he  was  very  angry  in- 
deed. He  determined  to  get  her 
back,  by  hook  or  by  crook.  So 
he  got  a  long  sharp  thorn,  and 
tied  it  at  his  waist  by  a  thread ; 
and  on  his  head  he  put  the  half  of 

a  walnut-shell  for  a  helmet,  and  the  skin  of  a  dead  frog 
served  for  body-armour.  Then  he  made  a  little  kettle- 
drum out  of  the  other  half  of  the  walnut-shell ;  and  he 

beat  his  drum,  and  proclaimed  war  upon  the  King. 

117 


"8  The  Valiant  Blackbird 

As  he  walked  along  the  road,  beating  his  drum, 
he  met  a  Cat. 

"  Whither  away,  Mr.  Blackbird  ?  "  said  the  Cat. 

"  To  fight  against  the  King,"  said  Mr.  Blackbird. 

"All  right,"  said  the  Cat,  "I'll  come  with  you:  he 
drowned  my  kitten." 

"Jump  into  my  ear,  then,"  says  Mr.  Blackbird. 
The  Cat  jumped  into  the  Blackbird's  ear,  and  curled 
up,  and  went  to  sleep  :  and  the  Blackbird  marched 
along,  beating  his  drum. 

Some  way  further  on,  he  met  some  Ants. 

"  Whither  away,  Mr.  Blackbird  ?  "  said  the  Ants. 

"  To  fight  against  the  King,"  said  Mr.  Blackbird. 

"All  right,"  said  the  Ants,  "we'll  come  too;  he 
poured  hot  water  ^down  our  hole." 

"Jump  into  my  ear,"  said  Mr.  Blackbird.  In  they 
jumped,  and  away  went  Blackbird,  beating  upon  his 
drum. 

Next  he  met  a  Rope  and  a  Club.  They  asked  him, 
whither  away  ?  and  when  they  heard  that  he  was  going 
to  fight  against  the  King,  they  jumped  into  his  ear 
also,  and  away  he  went. 

Not  far  from  the  King's  palace,  Blackbird  had  to 
cross  over  a  River. 

"Whither  away,  friend  Blackbird?"  asked  the 
River. 

Quoth  the  Blackbird,  "To  fight  against  the  King." 

"Then  I'll  come  with  you,"  said  the  River. 

"Jump  into  my  ear,"  says  the  Blackbird. 

Blackbird's  ears  were  pretty  full  by  this  time,  but 
he  found  room  somewhere  for  the  River,  and  away 
he  went. 


The  Valiant  Blackbird  119 

Blackbird  marched  along  until  he  came  to  the 
palace  of  the  King.  He  knocked  at  the  door,  thump, 
thump. 

"  Who's  there  ?  "  said  the  Porter. 

"General  Blackbird,  come  to  make  war  upon  the 
King,  and  get  back  his  wife." 

The  Porter  laughed  so  at  the  sight  of  General 
Blackbird,  with  his  thorn,  and  his  frogskin,  and  his 
drum,  that  he  nearly  fell  off  his  chair.  Then  he 
escorted  Blackbird  into  the  King's  presence. 

"  What  do  you  want  ? "  said  the  King. 

"  I  want  my  wife,"  said  the  Blackbird,  beating 
upon  his  drum,  rub-a-dub-dub,  rub-a-dub-dub. 

"You  shan't  have  her,"  said  the  King. 

"  Then,"  said  the  Blackbird,  "  you  must  take  the 
consequences."     Rub-a-dub-dub  went  the  drum. 

"Seize  this  insolent  bird,"  said  the  King,  "and  shut 
him  up  in  the  henhouse.  I  don't  think  there  will  be 
much  left  of  him  in  the  morning." 

The  servants  shut  up  Blackbird  in  the  henhouse. 
When  all  the  world  was  asleep,  Blackbird  said — 

"  Come  out,  Pussy,  from  my  ear, 
There  are  fowls  in  plenty  here  ; 
Scratch  them,  make  their  feathers  fly, 
Wring  their  necks  until  they  die." 

Out  came  Pussy-cat  in  an  instant.  What  a  con- 
fusion there  was  in  the  henhouse.  Cluck-cluck-cluck 
went  the  hens,  flying  all  over  the  place ;  but  no  use  ; 
Pussy  got  them  all,  and  scratched  out  their  feathers, 
and  wrung  their  necks.  Then  she  went  back  into 
Blackbird's  ear,  and  Blackbird  went  to  sleep. 


I20  The  Valiant  Blackbird 

When  morning  came,  the  King  said  to  his  men, 
"Go,  fetch  the  carcass  of  that  insolent  bird,  and  give 
the  Chickens  an  extra  bushel  of  corn."  But  when 
they  entered  the  henhouse,  Blackbird  was  singing  away 
merrily  on  the  roost,  and  all  the  fowls  lay  around  in 
heaps  with  their  necks  wrung. 

They  told  the  King,  and  an  angry  King  was  he. 
"To-night,"  said  he,  "you  must  shut  up  Blackbird  in 
the  stable."  So  Blackbird  was  shut  up  in  the  stable, 
among  the  wild  Horses. 

At  midnight,  when  all  the  world  was  asleep,  Black- 
bird said — 

"  Come  out,  Rope,  and  come  out.  Stick, 
Tie  the  Horses  lest  they  kick  ; 
Beat  the  Horses  on  the  head, 
Beat  them  till  they  fall  down  dead." 

Out  came  Club  and  Rope  from  Blackbird's  ear ; 
the  Rope  tied  the  horses,  and  the  Club  beat  them,  till 
they  died.  Then  the  Rope  and  the  Club  went  back 
into  the  Blackbird's  ear,  and  Blackbird  went  to  sleep. 

Next  morning  the  King  said — 

"No  doubt  my  wild  Horses  have  settled  the  busi- 
ness of  that  Blackbird  once  for  all.  Just  go  and  fetch 
out  his  corpse." 

The  servants  went  to  the  wild  Horses'  stable.  There 
was  Blackbird,  sitting  on  the  manger,  and  drumming 
away  on  his  walnut-shell ;  and  all  round  lay  the  dead 
bodies  of  the  Horses,  beaten  to  death. 

If  the  King  was  angry  before,  he  was  furious  now. 
His  horses  had  cost  a  great  deal  of  money;  and  to 
be  tricked  by  a  Blackbird  is  a  poor  joke. 


The  Valiant  Blackbird  121 

"  All  right,"  said  the  King,  "  I'll  make  sure  work  of 
it  to-night.     He  shall  be  put  with  the  Elephants." 

When  night  came  the  Blackbird  was  shut  up  in 
the  Elephants'  shed.  No  sooner  was  all  the  world 
quiet,  than  Blackbird  began  to  sing — 

"  Come  from  out  my  ear,  you  Ants, 
Come  and  sting  the  Elephants  ; 
Sting  their  trunk,  and  sting  their  head, 
Sting  them  till  they  fall  down  dead." 

Out  came  a  swarm  of  Ants  from  the  Blackbird's 
ear.  They  crawled  up  inside  the  Elephants'  trunks, 
they  burrowed  into  the  Elephants'  brains,  and  stung 
them  so  sharply  that  the  Elephants  all  went  mad, 
and  died. 

Next  morning,  as  before,  the  King  sent  for  the 
Blackbird's  carcass ;  and,  instead  of  finding  his  car- 
cass, the  servants  found  the  Blackbird  rub-a-dub- 
dubbing  on  his  drum,  and  the  dead  Elephants  piled 
all  round  him. 

This  time  the  King  was  fairly  desperate.  "  I  can't 
think  how  he  does  it,"  said  he,  "but  I  must  find  out. 
Tie  him  to-night  to  my  bed,  and  we'll  see." 

So  that  night  Blackbird  was  tied  to  the  King's  bed. 
In  the  middle  of  the  night,  the  King  (who  had  purposely 
kept  awake)  heard  him  sing — 

"  Come  out,  River,  from  my  ear, 
Flow  about  the  bedroom  here  ; 
Pour  yourself  upon  the  bed, 
Drown  the  King  till  he  is  dead." 

Out  came  the  River,  pour-pour-pouring  out   of  the 


122 


The  Valiant  Blackbird 


Blackbird's   ear.      It   flooded    the   room,  it   floated   the 
King's  bed,  the  King  began  to  get  wet. 

"  In    Heaven's  name,  General    Blackbird,"    said  the 
King,  "take  your  wife,  and  begone." 

So  Blackbird  received  his  wife  again,  and  they 
lived  happily  ever  after. 


The  Goat  and   the  Hog 


GOAT  and  a  Hog  were  great 
friends,  and  for  a  long  time  they 
lived  together.  But  they  were 
poor,  and  one  day  the  Goat  said 
to  the  Hog — 

"  Good-bye,  friend  Hog  !    I  am 
going  to  seek  my  fortune." 

"Ugh!   ugh!   ugh!"   said  the 

Hog.     It  was  kindly  meant,  for  that  was  all  the  ignorant 

Hog  could  say.     He  intended  to  bid  good-bye  to  his 

friend,  and  to  wish  him  good  luck. 

The  Goat  trotted  along  till  he  came  to   the  nearest 

town.      He    found   a    grain-shop    with 

nobody  in  it ;  so  in  went  our  Goat,  and 

ate  his  fill  of  the  Grain,  and  whatever 

he  could  find.     Then  he  went  into  the 

inner  room,  and  sat  down. 


By-and-by  the  shopman  came  in  ; 
his  little  girl  was  with  him,  and  the  little 
girl  began  to  cry  for  sugar. 

"Go  and  get  some  out  of  the  cup- 
board," said  the  shopman. 

The  little  girl  ran  into   the  inner   room  to  get  the 

sugar,  but  the  Goat  was  there.     And  when  the  Goat  saw 

the  little  girl,  he  cried  out,  in  a  solemn  and  loud  voice — 

123 


124  The  Goat  and  the  Hog 

"  Little  girl,  go  run,  go  run, 
Or  your  life  is  nearly  done  ! 
And  my  crumpled  horns  I'll  stick 
Through  your  little  body  quick  ! " 

The  little  girl  ran  out  shrieking.  "What  is  it,  my 
dear  ?  "  said  her  father. 

"  A  demon,  father  ! "  she  said ;  "  save  me  from  his 
crumpled  horn." 

What  a  terrible  thing  to  happen  in  a  quiet  household  I 
The  poor  man  did  not  know  what  to  do.  So  he  sent 
for  all  his  relations,  and  they  advised  him  to  try  what 
the  parson  could  do. 

So  the  Parson  was  sent  for,  and  the  Clerk,  and  the 
Sexton,  with  bell,  book,  and  candle.  They  lit  the  candle, 
and  opened  the  book  (I  think  it  was  a  Latin  Grammar, 
which  they  judged  would  be  enough  to  scare  any 
demon),  and  rang  the  bell ;  and  then  the  Parson,  with 
his  heart  in  his  boots,  advanced  into  the  room. 

Instantly  a  horrid  groan  burst  upon  his  ears  (or  so 
he  thought),  and  a  deep  voice  said — 

"  Parson,  fly  !  or  I  will  poke 

This  my  crumpled  horn  into  you  ! 
You'll  admit  it  is  no  joke 

When  you  feel  its  point  go  through  you  ! 
Sexton,  dig  his  grave,  and  then 
Let  the  Clerk  reply,  Amen  ! " 

The  Parson  dropt  his  Latin  Grammar,  and  ran  away, 
nor  did  he  stop  until  he  was  safe  in  his  own  church. 

At  this  the  Shopman  went  down  on  his  knees,  and 
put  his  hands  together,  and  said — 

"  O  most  respectable  Demon  !    whoever  you  are,  I 


The  Goat  and  the  Hog  125 

pray  you  do  me  no  harm  ;  and  I  will  worship  you,  and 
offer  you  anything  you  may  desire." 

Then  the  Goat  came  majestically  out,  walking  upon 
his  hind  legs,  with  his  grey  beard  flowing  from  his  chin, 
and  he  said — 

"  Put  wreaths  and  jewels  about  my  neck,  and  on 
each  of  my  horns,  and  round  my  paws  and  my  tail,  and 
give  me  sweetmeats  to  eat,  and  I  will  do  you  no  harm." 

The  Shopman  made  haste  to  do  all  this  ;  he  wreathed 
the  Goat  with  flowers,  and  put  all  his  wife's  jewels 
upon  the  horns  and  paws,  and  all  the  jewels  he  could 
borrow  from  his  neighbours. 

The  Goat  went  home,  and  showed  all  this  magni- 
ficence to  his  friend  the  Hog.  The  Hog  winked  his 
greedy  little  eyes,  and  somehow  made  his  friend  under- 
stand that  he  would  like  some  too.  Then  the  Goat  told 
him  how  he  got  the  things,  and  showed  him  the  way 
to  the  place. 

So  the  Hog  went  to  the  same  shop,  and  found  it 
empty.  The  Shopman  and  his  little  girl  had  gone  out 
to  tell  all  the  town  what  adventures  they  had  passed 
through.  The  Hog  grubbed  up  all  he  could  find  to  eat, 
and  then  went  and  sat  in  the  inner  room. 

Soon  the  Shopman  and  his  little  girl  came  back. 
The  little  girl  ran  inside  to  take  off  her  little  hat,  and 
what  does  she  see  but  a  big  black  Hog  sitting  there  ! 
The  Hog  remembered  his  lesson,  and  wanted  to  say 
some  terrible  thing  as  the  Goat  had  done ;  but  all  he 
could  get  out  was — 

"  Ugh  !  ugh  !  ugh  !  " 

This  did  not  frighten  the  little  girl  at  all.  She  ran 
out  to  her  father,  saying — 


126  The  Goat  and  the  Hog 

"O  papa  !  there  is  a  big  black  Hog  inside  ! " 
The  Shopman  got  out  his  knife,  and  whetted  it  on 
the  grindstone,  and  then  he  went  into  the  room. 
"  Ugh  !  ugh  !  ugh  !  "  said  the  Hog. 
The  Shopman  said  nothing,  but  stuck  his  knife  into 
the   Hog.    Then  there  was  a  squeaHng  and  squalling, 
if  you  like  !     But  in  two  minutes  the  Hog  was  dead, 
and  in  two  hours  he  was  skinned  and  cut  up,  and  by 
nightfall,  the  Shopman  and  his  little  girl,  and  all 
their  friends,  were  sitting  round  a  delicious 
leg  of  roast  pork,  and  the  Sexton  rang 
the  bell  for  dinner,  and  the  Parson 
said  grace,  and  the  Clerk 
said  Amen. 


The  Parrot  and  the  Parson 


IHERE  was  once  a  Banker  who  taught 
his  Parrot  the  speech  of  men.  The 
Parrot  made  such  progress  that  he  was 
soon  able  to  take  part  in  any  conversation, 
and  he  astonished  every  one  by  his  intelli- 
gence. 

One  day  a  Parson  came  by  the  Parrot. 
"  My  respects  to  your  Reverence,"  said 
the  Parrot. 

The  Parson  looked  all  round  him,  he  looked  down 
at  his  feet,  he  looked  up  into  the  sky ;  but  no  one 
could  he  see  who  might  have  spoken  to  him.  He 
could  not  make  it  out ;  he  thought  it  must  have  been 
a  ghost.  Then  the  Parrot  spoke  again.  "  It  was  I 
who  saluted  you,"  said  he.  The  Parrot  was  close  to 
the  Parson's  ear,  and  now  at  length  the  Parson  saw 
him.     The  Parrot  went  on — 

"  O  reverend  Sir,  you  teach  men  how  to  get  free 
from  the  chains  of  their  sins.  May  it  please  you  to 
tell  me  how  to  escape  from  this  cage  ? " 

This  was  a  practical  question,  but  the  Parson's 
advice  was  not  usually  asked  on  such  points.     He  did 

not  know  what  to  say. 

127 


128  The  Parrot  and  the  Parson 

"I  fear  I  can  be  of  no  use  to  you,"  said  he,  "but 
I  will  consult  my  Solicitor." 

The  Parson  went  to  see  his  Solicitor,  and  paid  him 
six  and  eightpence.  He  might  have  bought  the  Parrot, 
cage  and  all,  for  half  that ;  but,  as  I  said,  he  was 
not  a  practical  man.  When  he  told  the  Solicitor  what 
business  he  came  about,  the  Solicitor  said  nothing  at 
all,  but  fell  down  in  a  faint. 

*'  What  can  I  have  said  to  make  him  faint  ? "  the 
Parson  thought.  "  Perhaps  it  is  the  hot  weather." 
He  poured  water  over  the  Solicitor's  face,  and  by- 
and-by  the  Solicitor  came  to. 

The  Parson  wms  much  distressed  at  having  thrown 
away  six  and  eightpence ;  but  he  knew  it  would  be  of 
no  use  asking  the  Solicitor  to  give  any  of  it  back,  so 
he  did  not  try.  He  went  back  to  the  Parrot  and 
said — 

"  Dearly  beloved  bird,  I  much  regret  having  no 
information  to  give  you  which  may  be  of  use.  The 
fact  is,  no  sooner  did  I  put  your  question  to  my  worthy 
Solicitor,  than  he  fell  down  in  a  dead  faint." 

"Oh,"  said  the  Parrot,  ''many  thanks,  Parson." 

The  Parson  went  away  to  the  parish  meeting. 
When  he  had  gone,  the  Parrot  stretched  himself  out 
on  the  bottom  of  his  cage,  and  shut  his  eyes,  and 
cocked  up  his  feet  in  the  air. 

By-and-by  the  Banker  came  in,  and  saw  his  Parrot 
lying  on  his  back,  with  his  feet  pointing  to  the 
sky. 

"Poor  Poll,"  said  he,  "you're  dead,  my  pretty 
Poll." 


The  Parrot  and  the   Parson  129 

He   opened   the   door   of   the   cage,   and   took 

out    the    bird,    and     laid    him    on    the 

ground.     Immediately  the  Parrot 

opened  his  wings  and 

flew  away. 


The  Lion  and  the   Hare 


^NCE  upon  a  time  there  was  a  Lion,  who  used 

daily   to   devour   one    of    the    beasts   of   the 

forest.      They   had    to    come    up    one    after 

another,  when  called  for.     At  last  it  came  to 

the  Hare's  turn  to  be  eaten,  and  he  did  not 

want   to  be  eaten  at  all.     He  lingered  and 

he  dallied,  and  when  at  last  he  plucked  up 

courage  to  come,  he  was  very  late.    The  Lion, 

when   he   saw   the    Hare    coming,   bounded 

towards  him.     The  Hare  said — 

"  Uncle    Lion,    I    know   I    am   late,    and    you   have 

cause    to    be   angry.       But    really   it   is    not   my   fault. 

There  is  another  Lion  in  our  part  of  the  jungle,  and 

he  says  that  he  is  master,  and  you  are   nobody.      In 

fact,  when  I  showed  him  that  I  positively  would  come 

to  you  he  was  very  angry." 

"  Ha  !  "  said  the  Lion,  roaring ;  "who  says  he  is  my 

master  ?     Show  him  to  me.     I'll  teach  him  who  rules 

the  forest." 

"Come  along  then,"  said  the  Hare. 

They  went  a  long  way,  until  they  came  to  a  well. 

The  Hare  looked  down  into  the  well.     "  He  was  here 

just  now,"  said  he. 

130 


The  Lion  and  the  Hare 


131 


The  Lion  looked  in,  and  at  the  bottom  he  saw 
what  looked  Hke  a  Lion  in  the  water.  He  shook  his 
mane — the  other  Lion  shook  his  mane.  He  roared — 
the  echo  of  a  roar  came  up  from  the  bottom  of  the 
well.  "  Let  me  get  at  him  ! "  roared  the  Lion.  In 
he  jumped — splash  !  Nothing  more  was  ever  heard  of 
that  Lion,  and  the  beasts  of  the  forest  were  glad  to 
be  left  in  peace.  They  put  their  heads  together,  and 
composed  a  verse  of  poetry,  which  is  always  sung  in 
that  forest  on  Sundays  : — 

"  The  Hare  is  small,  but  by  his  wit 
He  now  has  got  the  best  of  it  ; 
By  folly  down  the  Lion  fell, 
And  lost  his  life  within  the  well." 


The  Monkey's  Bargains 


NCE  upon  a  time  an  old  Woman  was 

cooking,   and   she   ran   short   of   fuel. 

She  was  so  anxious  to  keep   up   her 

fire,  that  she  tore  out  the  hairs  of  her 

head,  and  threw  them  upon  the  flame 

instead  of  fuel. 

A  Monkey  came  capering  by,  and 

saw  the  old  Woman  at  her  fire. 

"Old  Woman,"  said  the  Monkey, 

"  why  are  you  burning  your  hair  ?     Do   you  want  to 

be  bald  ?  " 

"  O  Monkey ! "  quoth  the  old  Woman,  "  I  have  no 

fuel,  and  my  fire  will  go  out." 

"Shall   I    get    you    some    fuel,    mother?"    said   the 

Monkey. 

"That's  like  your  kind  heart,"  said  the  old  Woman. 

"  Do  get  me  some  fuel,  and  receive  an  old  Woman's 

blessing." 

The    Monkey   scampered   away   to   the   woods,   and 

brought  back  a  large  bundle  of  sticks.     The  old  Woman 

piled  the  dry  sticks  on  the  fire,  and  made  a  fine  blaze. 

She  put  on  her  cooking-plank,  and  made  four  cakes. 

All   this    while,    the    Monkey    sat    on    his    tail,   and 

watched  her.     But  when  the  cakes  were  done,  and  gave 

13a 


The  Monkey's   Bargains  133 

forth  a  delightful  odour,  the  Monkey  got  up  on  his  hind 
legs,  and  began  dancing  and  cutting  all  manner  of 
capers  round  about  the  cakes. 

"O  Monkey,"  said  the  old  Woman,  "why  do  you 
caper  and  dance  around  my  cakes  ?  " 

"I  gave  you  fuel,"  said  the  Monkey,  "and  won't  you 
give  me  a  cake  ?  " 

It  seems  to  me  that  she  might  have  thought  of  that 
without  being  asked  ;  but  she  did  not,  so  the  Monkey 
had  to  ask  for  it. 

Well,  the  old  Woman  gave  the  Monkey  one  cake,  and 
the  Monkey  took  his  cake  in  high  glee,  and  capered  away. 

On  the  way,  he  passed  by  the  house  of  a  Potter  ;  and 
at  the  door  of  the  Potter's  house  sat  the  Potter's  son, 
crying  his  eyes  out. 

"  What  is  the  matter,  little  boy  ?  "  asked  the  Monkey. 

"  I  am  very  hungry,"  whimpered  the  Potter's  son, 
"and  I  have  nothing  to  eat." 

"  Will  a  cake  be  of  any  use  ? "  asked  the  kind 
Monkey. 

The  Potter's  little  Boy  stretched  out  his  hand,  and 
into  his  hand  the  Monkey  put  his  cake.  Then  the 
little  Boy  stopped  crying,  and  ate  the  cake,  but  he  forgot 
to  say  thank  you.  Perhaps  he  had  never  been  taught 
manners,  but  the  Monkey  felt  sad,  because  that  was  not 
the  kind  of  thing  he  was  used  to. 

The  Potter's  little  Boy  then  went  into  the  shop,  and 
brought  out  four  little  earthenware  pots,  and  began  to 
play  with  them.  He  took  no  more  notice  of  the  Monkey, 
now  that  he  had  eaten  his  cake  ;  but  when  the  Monkey 
saw  these  earthenware  pots,  he  began  to  dance  and  cut 
capers  round  them,  like  mad. 


134  The  Monkey's  Bargains 

"  Why  are  you  dancing  round  my  pots  ? "  asked 
the  Httle  Boy.  *'  Are  you  going  to  break  them, 
Monkey  ?" 

The  Monkey  rephed,  capering  about  all  the  while — 

"  One  old  Woman,  in  a  fix, 
Made  me  go  and  gather  sticks  ; 
Then  she  gave  me,  for  the  sake 
Of  the  fuel,  one  sweet  cake. 
That  sweet  cake  to  you  I  gave  : 
In  return,  one  pot  I  crave." 

The  Potter's  little  Boy  was  very  much  afraid  of  this 
dancing  and  singing  Monkey,  and  perhaps  he  was  a 
little  bit  ashamed  of  his  ingratitude ;  so  he  gave  the 
Monkey  one  of  his  four  pots. 

Away  capered  the  Monkey,  in  high  glee,  carrying 
his  pot.  By-and-by  he  came  to  a  place,  where  was  a 
Cowherd's  wife  making  curds  in  a  mortar. 

•'What  an  odd. thing  to  do,  Mrs.  Cowherd,"  said  the 
Monkey.  *'  Have  you  a  fancy  for  making  curds  in  a 
mortar  ?  " 

"  No,"  said  the  Cowherd's  wife,  "  but  I  have  nothing 
better  to  make  my  curds  in." 

"  Here's  a  pot  which  will  do  better  than  a  mortar  to 
make  curds  in,"  said  the  Monkey,  offering  the  pot  which 
he  had  received  from  the  little  Boy. 

"  Thank  you,  kind  Mr.  Monkey,"  said  the  Cowherd's 
wife.  She  took  the  pot  and  made  curds  in  it.  She  took 
out  the  curds  from  the  pot,  and  put  them  ready  for 
eating,  and  some  butter  beside  them.  The  Monkey 
watched  her,  sitting  upon  his  tail. 

Then  the  Monkey  got  up  off  his  tail,  and  began  to 
dance  and  cut  capers  round  the  curds  and  the  butter. 


The  Monkey's   Bargains  135 

"  Why  are  you  dancing  about  my  butter  ?  "  said  the 
Cowherd's  wife.     "  Do  you  want  to  spoil  it  ?  " 

Then  the  Monkey  began  to  sing,  as  he  capered 
about — 

"  One  old  Woman,  in  a  fix, 

Made  me  go  and  gather  sticks  ; 

Then  she  gave  me,  for  the  sake 

Of  the  fuel,  one  sweet  cake. 

Potter's  son  ate  that,  and  he 

Gave  a  pot  instead  to  me. 

Since  to  you  I  gave  that  pot. 

Give  me  butter,  will  you  not  ?" 

The  wife  of  the  Cowherd  was  much  pleased  with  this 
song,  as  she  was  fond  of  music.  "If  your  kindness," 
said  she,  "  had  not  already  earned  the  butter,  your  pretty 
song  would  be  worth  it."  Then  she  gave  him  a  good 
lump  of  butter. 

Off  went  the  Monkey  in  high  glee,  capering  along 
with  the  lump  of  butter  wrapped  up  in  a  leaf.  As  he 
went,  he  came  to  another  place,  where  a  Cowherd  was 
grazing  his  kine.  The  Cowherd  was  sitting  down  at  that 
moment,  and  enjoying  his  dinner,  which  consisted  of  a 
hunk  of  dry  bread. 

"  Why  do  you  eat  dry  bread,  Mr.  Cowherd  ?  "  asked 
the  Monkey.     "  Are  you  fasting  ?  " 

"  I  am  eating  dry  bread,"  quoth  the  Cowherd, 
"  because  I  have  nothing  to  eat  with  it." 

"  What  do  you  say  to  this  ? "  said  the  Monkey, 
cutting  a  caper,  and  offering  to  the  Cowherd  his  lump 
of  butter,  wrapped  up  in  a  leaf. 

"  Ah,"  said  the  Cowherd,  "  prime."  Not  another  word 
said  he,  but  spread  the  butter  upon  his  dry  bread,  and 
set  to,  with  much  relish. 


136  The   Monkey's   Bargains 

The  Monkey  sat  on  his  tail,  and  watched  the  Cowherd 
eating  his  meal.  When  the  meal  was  eaten,  up  jumped 
the  Monkey,  and  began  capering  and  dancing,  hopping 
and  skipping,  round  and  round  the  herd  of  kine. 

"Ah,"  said  the  Bumpkin,  "what  are  you  a-doing 
that  for  ? "  The  Bumpkin  was  so  ignorant  that  he 
thought  the  Monkey  wanted  to  bewitch  his  cattle,  and 
dry  up  all  their  milk. 

The  Monkey  went  on  with  his  skips  and  capers, 
and  as  he  capered,  he  sang  this  ditty  : — 

"  One  old  Woman,  in  a  fix, 
Made  me  go  and  get  her  sticks  ; 
Then  she  gave  me,  for  the  sake 
Of  the  fuel,  one  sweet  cake. 
Potter's  son  the  sweet  cake  got. 
Gave  me,  in  return,  one  pot. 
Cow-wife  had  the  pot,  and  she 
Butter  gave  instead  to  me. 
This  I  gave  to  you  just  now  : 
Will  you  give  me,  please,  one  cow  ?" 

"  All,"  said  the  Bumpkin,  "  'spose  I  must."  He  was 
afraid  of  the  Monkey's  spells,  and  so  he  gave  him 
a  cow. 

Away  capered  the  Monkey,  in  high  glee,  leading 
his  cow  by  a  string.  "  1  am  indeed  getting  on  in  the 
w^orld,"  said  he. 

By-and-by,  what  should  he  see  coming  along  the 
road,  but  the  King  himself.  The  King  was  fastened 
to  the  shafts  of  a  cart,  which  he  was  slowly  dragging 
along;  and  jogging  by  the  side  of  this  cart  was  an 
ox  ;  and  upon  the  ox  sat  the  Queen.  This  King  had 
very  simple  tastes,  and  so  had  the  Queen. 


The   Monkey's  Bargains  137 

"  O  King,"  said  the  Monkey,  "  why  are  you  dragging 
your  cart  with  your  own  royal  hands  ?  " 

"  This  is  the  reason,  O  Monkey ! "  said  the  King. 
"  My  ox  died  in  the  forest,  and  I  drag  the  cart  because 
this  cart  will  not  drag  itself." 

"  Come,  sire,"  said  the  Monkey,  "  I  don't  like  to 
see  a  King  doing  draught-work.  Take  this  cow  of 
mine,  and  welcome." 

"Thank  you,  good  and  faithful  Monkey,"  said  the 
King.     He  mopped  his  brow,  and  yoked  in  the  cow. 

The  Monkey  began  to  dance  and  caper,  jump  and 
skip,  round  the  Queen. 

"  What  is  the  matter,  worthy  Monkey  ? "  asked 
the  King. 

The  Monkey  began  his  ditty  : — • 


"  One  old  Woman,  in  a  fix, 
Made  me  go  and  gather  sticks  ; 
Then  she  gave  me,  for  the  sake 
Of  the  fuel,  one  sweet  cake. 
Pottei-'s  son  the  sweet  cake  got, 
Gave  me  in  its  place,  one  pot. 
Cow-wife  had  the  pot,  and  she 
Butter  gave  instead  to  me. 
Bumpkin  ate  the  butter,  then 
Paid  me  with  this  cow  again. 
Keep  the  cow,  but  don't  be  mean  : 
All  I  ask  for,  is  the  Queen." 

This  seemed  reasonable  enough,  so  the  King  gave 
his  Queen  to  the  Monkey. 

Away  went  the  Monkey,  capering  along,  and  the 
Queen  walked  after  (you  see  the  King  could  not  part 
with  his  ox  as  well  as  the  Queen). 


13^  The   Monkey's   Bargains 

By-and-by  they  came  to  a  Man  sewing  a  button 
on  to  his  shirt. 

"  Why,  Man,"  said  the  Monkey,  "  why  do  you  sew 
on  your  own  buttons  ?  " 

"  Because  my  wife  is  dead,"  said  the  Man. 

"  Here  is  a  nice  wife  for  you,"  said  the  Monkey. 
He  gave  the  Queen  to  the  Man.  The  Monkey  then 
began  his  capers  again,  but  all  he  could  find  to  caper 
about,  was  a  drum. 

"You  may  have  that  drum,  if  you  like,"  said  the 
Man.  "  I  only  kept  it  because  its  voice  reminded  me 
of  my  wife,  and  now  I  have  another." 

"  Thank  you,  thank  you  !  "  said  the  Monkey.  "  Now 
I  am  rich  indeed  !  "  Then  he  began  to  beat  upon  the 
drum,  and  sang  : — 

"  One  old  Woman,  in  a  fix, 
Made  me  go  and  gather  sticks  ; 
Then  she  gave  me,  for  the  sake 
Of  the  fuel,  one  sweet  cake. 
Potter's  son  the  sweet  cake  got, 
Gave  me  in  its  place,  one  pot. 
Cow-wife  had  the  pot,  and  she 
Butter  gave  instead  to  me. 
Bumpkin  ate  the  butter,  then 
Gave  a  cow  to  me  again. 
King  took  cow,  but  was  not  mean. 
For  he  paid  me  with  a  Queen. 
Now  I  have  a  drum,  that's  worth 
More  than  any  drum  on  earth. 
You  are  worth  a  queen,  my  drum  ! 
Rub-a-dub-dub,  dhum  dhum  dhum  !  " 

So  the  Monkey  capered  away  into  the  forest  in 

high  glee,  beating  upon  his  drum,  and  he 

has  never  been  heard  of  since. 


The  Monkey's  Rebuke 


N  a  certain  village,  whose  name  I 
know  (but  I  think  I  will  keep  it 
to  myself),  in  this  village,  I  say, 
there  was  once  a  Milkman.  I 
daresay  you  know  that  a  Milk- 
man is  a  man  who  sells  milk  ;  but 
I  have  seen  milkmen  who  also  sell 
water.  That  is  to  say,  they  put 
water  in  the  milk  which  they  sell,  and  so  they  get  more 
money  than  they  deserve.  This  was  the  sort  of  Milkman 
that  my  story  tells  of ;  and  he  was  worse  than  the  more 
part  of  such  tricksters,  since  he  actually  filled  his  pans 
only  half  full  of  milk,  and  the  other  half  all  water.  The 
people  of  that  village  were  so  simple  and  honest,  that 
they  never  dreamt  their  Milkman  was  cheating  them  ; 
and  if  the  milk  did  seem  thin,  all  they  did  was  to  shake 
their  heads,  and  say,  "  What  a  lot  of  water  the  cows  do 
drink  this  hot  weather  !  " 

By  watering  his  milk,  this  Milkman  got  together  a 
great  deal  of  money  :  ten  pounds  it  was,  all  in  sixpences, 
because  the  villagers  always  bought  sixpennyworth  of 
milk  a  day. 

When  the  Milkman  had  got  ten  pounds,  that  is  to  say, 

no  less  than  four  hundred  silver  sixpences,  he  thought 

139 


140 


The  Monkey's  Rebuke 


he  would  go  and  try  his  tricks  in  another  place,  where 
there  were  more  people  to  be  cheated.  So  he  put  his 
four  hundred  silver  sixpences  in  a  bag,  and  set  out. 

After  travelling  a  while,  he  came  to  a  pond.     He  sat 
down  by  the  pond  to  eat  his  breakfast,  laying  his  bag 

of  sixpences  by  his  side  ; 
and  after  breakfast,  he  pro- 
ceeded to  wash  his  hands 
in  the  pond. 

Now  it  so  happened 
that  this  was  the  very  pond 
where  the  Milkman  came 
to  water  his  milk.  He 
came  all  this  way  out  of 
the  village,  because  he  did 
not  want  to  be  seen  by 
the  people  of  the  village. 
But  there  was  one  who 
saw  him  ;  and  that  was  a 
Monkey,  who  lived  in  a 
tree  which  overhung  the 
pond.  Many  a  time  and 
oft  had  this  Monkey  seen 
the  Milkman  pour  water 
into  the  milk-cans,  chuck- 
ling over  the  profit  he  was 
to  make.  This  was  a  very  worthy  and  well-educated 
Monkey,  and  he  knew  just  as  well  as  you  or  I  know, 
that  if  you  sell  milk,  you  should  put  no  water  in  it. 
When  the  Man  stooped  do\vn  to  wash  his  hands  in  the 
pond,  quietly,  quietly  down  came  the  Monkey,  swinging 
himself  from  branch  to  branch  with  his  tail.     Down  he 


The   Monkey's   Rebuke  143 

came  to  the  ground,  and  picked  up  the  bag  of  sixpences, 
and  then  up  again  to  his  perch  in  the  tree. 

The  Monkey  untied  the  mouth  of  the  bag,  and  took 
out  one  sixpence,  and,  chck  !  dropped  it  into  the  pond. 
The  Milkman  heard  a  tiny  splash,  but  it  did  not  trouble 
him,  because  he  thought  it  was  a  nut  or  something  that 
had  fallen  from  the  tree.  Click !  another  sixpence. 
Click  !  went  a  tliird. 

By  this  time  the  Milkman's  hands  were  dry,  and  he 
looked  round  to  pick  up  his  bag,  and  get  him  gone.  But 
no  bag  !  Click  !  click  !  went  the  sixpences  all  this  while  ; 
and  now  the  Milkman  began  to  look  around  him.  Before 
long  he  espied  the  Monkey  sitting  on  a  branch  with  his 
beloved  bag,  and — O  horror  !  dropping  sixpences,  click  ! 
click  !  click  !  one  after  another  into  the  pond. 

"  I  say,  you  Monkey  ! "  shouted  he,  "  that's  my  bag  ! 
What  are  you  doing  ?  bring  me  back  my  bag  !  " 

"  Not  yet,"  said  the  Monkey,  and  went  on  dropping 
the  sixpences,  click  !  click  !  click  ! 

The  Milkman  wept,  the  Milkman  tore  handfuls  of  hair 
out  of  his  head  ;  but  the  Monkey  might  have  been  made 
of  stone  for  all  the  notice  he  took  of  the  Milkman. 

At  last  the  Monkey  had  dropt  two  hundred  sixpences 
into  the  pond.  Then  he  tied  up  the  mouth  of  the 
money-bag,  and  threw  it  down  to  the  Milkman.  "  There, 
take  your  money,"  said  the  Monkey. 

"  And  Where's  the  rest  of  my  money  ? "  asked  the 
Milkman,  fuming  with  rage. 

"You  have  all  the  money  that  is  yours,"  said  the 
Monkey.  "  Half  of  the  money  was  the  price  of  water 
from  this  pond,  so  to  the  pond  I  gave  it." 

The  Milkman  felt  very  much  ashamed  of  himself,  and 


144 


The  Monkey's  Rebuke 


went  away,  a  sadder  but  a  wiser  man ;  and  never  again 

did  he  put  water  in  his  milk.     And  that  is  why 

I  have  not  told  you  the  name  of  the  village 

where  he  lived  ;  for  now  that  he  has 

turned  over  a  new  leaf,  it  would 

hardly  be  fair  to  rake  up 

his  old  misdeeds 

against  him. 


The  Bull  and  the  Bullfinch 


NDER  a  certain  tree  lived  a  wild  Bull,  and  a 
Bullfinch  had  his  nest  in  the  branches.  A  Bull 
in  a  field  is  vicious  enough,  as  I  daresay  you 
know ;  but  a  wild  Bull  is  worse  than  anything. 
Wild  Bulls  are  tremendously  strong,  and  they 
can  fight  with  almost  any  beast  of  the  forest, 
even  Lions  and  Tigers. 

This  wild  Bull  used  to  attack  every  creature  that 
came  near ;  and  that,  not  for  the  sake  of  food,  as  Lions 
and  Tigers  do,  but  out  of  pure  mischief.  When  the 
creature  (were  he  man  or  beast)  was  killed,  this  wild 
Bull  would  leave  the  corpse  lying,  and  begin  to  eat 
grass.  But  the  little  Bullfinch  harmed  nobody,  unless 
it  were  a  worm  he  would  eat  now  and  again  for  a 
treat.  All  day  long  he  hopped  about,  picking  up  seeds, 
and  singing  away  with  all  his  throat.  Many  a  time 
he  saw  the  wild  Bull  gore  some  creature  to  death  ; 
and  when  he  saw  such  things,  tears  would  roll  out  of 
his  eyes,  because  he  could  do  nothing  to  help. 

At  last  he  thought  to  himself  that  he  could  at  least 
warn  the  wild  Bull  of  his  wickedness,  and  clear  his 
own  conscience.  So  one  morning,  when  the  wild  Bull 
was  sitting  under  his  tree,  and  looking  around  him, 
Bullfinch  piped  up,  and  said — 


146  The  Bull  and  the  Bullfinch 

"  Good  brother  Bull,  I  suppose  we  are  akin  somehow 
or  other,  because  of  our  names." 

"  Yes,  I  daresay  it  may  be  so,  Cousin  Bullfinch,"  said 
the  Bull. 

"  Well,"  says  the  Bullfinch,  "  allow  me  the  right  of 
a  near  kinsman  to  say  something  to  you." 

"  All  right,  go  ahead,"  said  the  Bull  gruffly. 

"  Well,"  said  the  Bullfinch,  clearing  his  throat  (for 
he  was  a  little  frightened),  "  don't  you  know  that  murder 
is  a  very  evil  deed,  and  yet  you  do  it  every  day  of 
your  life  ?  " 

"  Impertinent  speck  ! "  said  the  Bull,  getting  up  and 
walking  away.  He  thought  it  cheeky  that  a  bird  so 
little  should  presume  to  rebuke  a  great  big  Bull.  He 
did  not  remember,  you  see,  that  big  bodies  are  often 
big  fools,  and  precious  goods  are  done  up  in  small 
parcels.  The  warning  of  the  little  Finch  was  as  the 
blowing  of  the  wind ;  at  least,  so  it  seemed  at  the 
time,  though  afterwards  (as  you  shall  hear)  the  Bull 
did  remember  it. 

So  the  Bull  went  on  tossing  and  goring  all  that 
came  within  reach ;  and  now  he  would  have  nothing 
to  say  to  the  poor  little  Bullfinch. 

This  went  on,  until  one  night  a  certain  Lion  had 
a  dream.  This  Lion  was  King  of  the  Forest,  and  he 
could  conquer  any  creature  who  fought  with  him.  In 
his  dream  the  Lion  thought  that  an  angel  stood  before 
him,  and  said  :  "  O  Lion  1  in  such  a  place,  under  a  tree, 
lives  a  wild  Bull,  who  does  cruel  murders  every  day 
upon  innocent  folk.  By  that  tree  is  good  pasture,  and 
the  wild  Bull  has  grown  very  fat.  I  think  he  would 
make  a  nice  meal  for  you  ;  and  at  the  same  time  you 


The   Bull  and  the  Bullfinch  147 

would  be  doing  a  good  action  in  ridding  the  world  of 
such  a  monster." 

When  day  dawned,  the  Lion  made  no  delay,  but 
set  out  at  once  towards  the  place  of  the  wild  Bull. 
By-and-by  he  caught  scent  of  the  Bull,  and  then  he 
uttered  a  terrible  roar.  The  Bull  heard  the  roar  and 
was  afraid ;  and  still  more  feared  he,  when  he  saw 
this  Lion  approach,  whom  he  knew  to  be  the  King  of 
the  Forest,  and  invincible. 

"O  Bull!"  roared  the  Lion,  "your  hour  has  come. 
I  am  come  to  eat  you,  as  a  just  punishment  for  your 
sins,  and  also  because  I  am  hungry." 

At  this  the  Bull  trembled  greatly,  for  he  knew  now 
that  his  sins  had  found  him  out.  His  knees  gave  way 
beneath  him,  and  he  was  just  about  to  sink  to  the 
ground,  when  the  words  of  the  Bullfinch  came  into 
his  mind.     Then  he  said — 

"  O  mighty  Lion  !  I  have  indeed  deserved  to  be 
eaten,  but  I  beg  of  you  one  last  favour.  Give  me 
leave  to  bid  farewell  to  a  little  kinsman  of  mine,  Cousin 
Bullfinch,  who  lives  in  this  tree,  and  at  this  moment  is 
picking  up  seeds  not  far  off." 

The  Lion  was  a  good  fellow,  and  had  no  wish  to 
be  hard  on  the  Bull,  so  he  said  :  "  I  give  leave,  O  Bull, 
if  you  will  promise  on  your  honour  to  come  back  and 
be  eaten." 

The  Bull  gave  his  word  that  he  would  come  back, 
and  then  went  slowly  away  in  search  of  the  Bullfinch. 

Master  Bullfinch  was  at  the  moment  eating  his  frugal 
breakfast  of  seeds.  Suddenly  he  was  aware  that  the  wild 
Bull  was  approaching.  He  looked  up,  and  seeing  the 
dejected  air  of  the  Bull,  he  greeted  him  as  cheerfully  as 


T48  The  Bull  and  the  Bullfinch 

he  could,  and  then  asked  what  the  matter  was  ?  This 
Bullfinch  bore  no  manner  of  grudge  for  the  Bull's  rude- 
ness, because  in  his  little  body  was  a  great  heart,  and  he 
never  thought  of  mean  things. 

"O  Finchy,  Finchy!"  moaned  the  Bull,  "look 
upon  me  for  the  last  time  !  A  hungry  Lion  has  come 
to  devour  me,  and  it  is  of  no  use  to  resist ;  for  he 
says  that  an  angel  has  sent  him  to  punish  me  for 
my  sins." 

"  Poor  old  chap  ! "  said  the  Bullfinch,  "  tell  me  all 
about  it." 

Then  the  wild  Bull  told  him  the  dream  which  the 
Lion  had  seen. 

"Ah,"  said  the  Bullfinch,  "that  is  curious." 

"  Why  ?  "  asked  the  Bull. 

"  Because,"  said  the  Bullfinch,  "  I  too  had  a  dream 
last  night,  which  I  think  the  Lion  ought  to  hear." 

The  wild  Bull  was  not  interested  in  the  Bullfinch's 
dream  ;  would  you  be  interested  in  dreams,  I  wonder, 
if  you  expected  to  be  eaten  the  next  minute  ?  However, 
he  said  nothing  ;  and  when  Bullfinch  fluttered  his  wings, 
and  flew  away  towards  the  Lion,  our  friend  the  wild  Bull 
followed  slowly  behind. 

"  Good  morning,  King  Lion,"  said  the  little  bird.  "  So 
you  have  had  a  dream  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  said  the  Lion,  and  then  he  told  the  Bullfinch 
his  dream. 

"  I  had  a  dream  too,"  said  the  Bullfinch,  "and  this  it 
was.  I  dreamt  that  the  same  angel  who  came  to  you, 
came  afterwards  to  me,  and  said,  "  O  Bullfinch  !  when 
the  Lion  comes  to  eat  your  friend  the  Bull,  tell  him 
that  he  was  sent  not  to  destroy,  but  to  cure ;  and  that 


The  Bull  and  the  Bullfinch 


149 


now  the  Bull  repents  of  his  evil  ways,  the  Lion  may  go 
back  again  to  his  forest." 

"  Oh,  I  am  so  glad  ! "  said  the  Lion.  "  I  am  hungry, 
it  is  true,  but  I  daresay  I  can  find  some  other  creature, 
who  has  committed  no  sins,  and  wants  no  curing.  So 
good-bye,  friend  Bull,  and  don't  do  it  again."  So  saying, 
the  Lion  shook  hands  with  both  of  them,  and  went  to 
look  for  a  fawn. 

Then  the  Bull,  wild  no  longer,  thanked  his  friend  the 

Bullfinch    for  saving   his   life,  and   they  became  faster 

friends  that  ever.     The  Bull  gored  no  more  creatures, 

indeed  he  welcomed  them  as  his  guests ;  and  in  the  fat 

pastures  around  that  tree  you  might  have  seen,  if  you 

had   been   there,   whole   herds   of    deer  and    antelopes 

grazing  without  any  fear  ;  and  the    Bull  lived 

in  their  midst  to  a  green  old  age,  till 

he  died  respected  and  went 

to  a  happier  world. 


The  Swan  and  the  Crow 


NCE  upon  a  time,  two  Swans  had  to  leave 
home  on  account  of  a  famine ;  and  they 
settled  by  a  lake  in  a  distant  land.  By  the 
side  of  this  lake  lived  a  Carrion  Crow.  The 
Swans  built  a  nest,  and  Mrs.  Swan  laid  two 
beautiful  round  eggs  in  the  nest,  and  sat  upon 
them.  She  had  to  sit  on  the  eggs  for  weeks, 
in  order  to  keep  them  warm,  so  that  the  little 
ones  might  grow  up  inside  and  be  hatched. 
While  she  sat  there,  the  Crow  used  to  help  Mr.  Swan 
to  find  food  for  his  wife  ;  and  when  the  cygnets  came 
out  of  their  shells,  the  Crow  helped  to  feed  them  also. 

So  all  went  happily  for  a  time,  and  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Swan  were  deeply  grateful  to  the  kind  Crow.  But 
Crows  are  not  kind  without  some  reason,  and  what  this 
Crow's  reason  was,  you  shall  now  hear. 

Time  went  on,  and  one  day  Mr.  Swan  said  to  Mrs. 
Swan — 

"  My  dear,  the  famine  must  be  over  by  this  time. 
What  do  you  say  ?  shall  we  go  home  again  ?  " 

"  I  am  ready,"  Mrs.  Swan  said,  "  and  we  can  start 
to-morrow  if  you  like." 

"  Stop  a  bit,"  says  Mr.  Crow,  "  I  have  a  word  or  two 
to  say  first." 


The  Swan  and  the  Crow  151 

"Why,  what  do  you  mean?"  the  Swans  said,  both 
together. 

"  I  mean,"  said  the  Crow,  "  that  you  may  go,  if  you 
hke,  but  these  cygnets  are  as  much  mine  as  yours,  and 
may  I  be  plucked  if  I  let  them  go  with  you  ! " 

"Yours!"  said  Mrs.  Swan.  "Who  laid  the  eggs? 
who  hatched  them  ?  " 

"And  who  fed  them,  I  should  like  to  ask  ?"  said  the 
Crow,  with  a  disagreeable  laugh  :  "  Caw,  caw,  caw  ! " 

Here  was  a  bolt  from  the  blue  !  The  Crow  stuck  to 
it,  and  the  end  of  all  was,  that  Mrs.  Swan  stayed  behind 
to  look  after  her  little  ones,  while  Mr.  Swan  fiew  off  to 
lay  a  complaint  in  court  against  the  greedy  Crow. 

But  you  must  not  suppose  that  this  Crow  meant  to 
sit  still,  and  let  the  Swan  have  things  all  his  own  way. 
Not  he ;  off  he  flew  secretly  to  the  Judge,  and  to  the 
Judge  said  he — 

"O  Judge,  a  Swan  is  going  to  lodge  a  false  charge 
against  me,  and  I  want  your  help  ! " 

"  If  it  is  false,"  said  the  Judge,  "  you  want  help  from 
no  one." 

"Caw,  caw,  caw  !"  said  the  Crow,  "you  understand 
me."    Then  this  vulgar  Crow  winked  one  eye  at  the  Judge. 

"  Hm,  hm,"  said  the  Judge,  looking  at  the  Crow.  It 
is  a  pity  to  say  it,  but  it  is  quite  true,  that  this  Judge  was 
an  unjust  Judge  ;  and  he  was  ready  to  give  any  decision, 
right  or  wrong,  so  long  as  he  was  bribed  well  for  his 
trouble.  In  that  country,  you  see,  there  was  no  jury  to 
decide  matters,  but  all  power  lay  in  the  hands  of  the 
Judge. 

The  Judge  winked  one  eye  at  the  Crow.    Then  he 

said,  very  softly,  "What  will  you  give  me?" 


152  The  Swan  and  the  Crow 

"  Silver  and  gold  have  I  none,"  said  the  Crow,  "  but 
I'll  tell  you  what  I  will  do.  I'll  carry  your  father's  bones 
to  the  Holy  Land,  and  bury  them  in  Jerusalem,  and 
then  your  father  will  be  sure  to  go  to  heaven." 

The  Judge  was  so  foolish  that  he  really  believed  his 
father  would  go  to  heaven  at  once,  if  only  his  bones 
were  buried  in  Jerusalem,  although  his  father  had  been 
as  wicked  as  himself  while  he  was  alive.  So  he  agreed 
to  the  Crow's  proposal. 

When  the  case  came  into  court,  of  course  the  Judge 
gave  decision  in  favour  of  the  Crow,  though  there  was 
no  evidence  on  his  side  except  his  own  word :  and  who 
but  a  fool  would  trust  the  word  of  a  Carrion  Crow  ? 
When  the  court  rose,  the  Crow  flew  to  the  house  of  the 
Judge,  and  asked  for  the  bones  of  the  Judge's  father. 
So  the  Judge  tied  up  his  father's  bones  in  a  bag,  and 
hung  the  bag  round  the  Crow's  neck.  Away  flew  the 
Crow,  but  he  didn't  fly  far  ;  for  as  the  Judge  watched 
him,  the  Crow  hovered  over  a  filthy  drain  ;  and  untying 
the  bag,  began  dropping  the  bones  one  by  one  into 
the  mud. 

**  Hi,  you  brute  ! "  shouted  the  Judge,  "what  are  you 
doing  ! " 

"Oh,  you  pumpkin  ! "  said  the  Crow,  "  did  you  verily 
think  that  I  should  take  the  trouble  to  carry  your  father's 
rotten  old  bones  to  Jerusalem  ?  No,  no  ;  I  only  wanted 
to  see  what  rogues  the  race  of  Judges  can  be.  Caw!" 
Flop  !  went  the  last  bone  into  the  mud,  and  away  flew 
the  Crow,  and  never  came  back  there  any  more. 

So  the  Judge  had  to  pick  his  father's  bones  out  of 
the  gutter.  And  the  next  thing  he  had  to  do  was  to 
reverse    his    own    decision,    and    give    the    Swan    his 


The  Swan  and  the  Crow 


155 


young   ones  again ;    because,   you    see,   a    great   many 

people   had   heard   what  the   Crow  said  to  the   Judge, 

and    knew   (if    they   didn't    know   it    before)    that    the 

Judge  was  a  rogue.     So  the  Swan  got  his  young  ones 

back,  and  as  for  the  Judge,  he  became  the 

laughing-stock  of  the  whole  city,  and  he 

was  obliged  to  go  and  try  his 

tricks  elsewhere. 


Pride  shall  have  a  Fall 


HERE  was   once  a  great  drought  in  the 

land.     For  weeks  and  months  not  a  drop 

of  rain  fell ;  and  the  sun  beat  down,  and 

dried  up  the  whole  country,  so  that  there 

was   no   water   to   be   found.      Now   there 

was  a  certain  pond  in  that  country ;  and 

as  day  after  day  the  sun  blazed,  the  water 

sank  lower  and  lower,  until  it  was  hardly 

an  inch  deep.     Numbers  of  Frogs  used  to  live  in  this 

pond  ;  but  as  the  water  dried  the  Frogs  died,  so  that 

the  dry  mud  on  the  banks  of  the  pond  was  covered  all 

over  with  dead  bodies  of  Frogs. 

There   came   a   Jackal    out   of   the   forest.     He   was 

glad  to  see  this  pool,  because  the  pool  where  he  used 

to  drmk  had  been  quite  dried  up.     So  he  made  a  little 

platform    of    mud,    and    stuck    up    four    posts    at    the 

four   corners ;    and   then   he   gathered   bundles   of  dry 

grass,  and  put  them  upon  the  top  of  the  four  posts  for 

a  thatch.     Then  his  eye  fell  on  the  corpses  of  Frogs 

lying  about ;    and  being  a  foolish   animal,  he   thought 

these   corpses   were    uncommonly   pretty.       And   what 

do  you  think  he  did  ?     He  gathered  a  lot  of  the  dead 

Frogs  and' hung  a  fringe  of  them  all  round  the  thatch  ; 

is6 


Pride  shall  have  a  Fall  157 

and  in  each  of  his  ears  he  hung  a  dead  Frog,  Hke  an 
earring. 

From  far  and  near  swarms  of  Rats  used  to  come 
to  this  pond  for  drinking,  since  it  was  the  only  water 
to  be  found  for  a  long  distance,  and  all  the  rest  was 
dried  up.  Then  the  Jackal  kept  guard  over  the  pool ; 
and  not  a  drop  might  any  Rat  so  much  as  taste,  unless 
he  would  first  bow  down  and  worship  the  Jackal,  and 
sing  the  following  psalm,  which  the  Jackal  made  up 
himself : — 

"  A  temple  all  of  gold  I  found, 
With  golden  lamps  hung  all  around  ; 
And  see  I  the  God  himself  is  here, 
With  two  big  pearls  in  either  ear." 

Even  a  Rat  can  tell  a  dead  Frog  from  a  pearl,  but 
willy  nilly  he  needs  must  sing  it,  or  else  no  water.  So 
when  the  Rat  had  sung  this  psalm,  and  bowed  himself 
down  three  times  before  the  Jackal,  worshipping  him 
as  if  he  were  a  God,  he  was  allowed  to  go  down  and 
take  a  sip  of  the  water. 

One  day,  what  should  come  down  to  the  water  to 
drink  but  an  Ox  with  one  eye. 

"  Ho  !  ho  !  one-eyed  Ox  !  "  screamed  the  Jackal, 
"  not  a  drop  till  you  sing  your  psalm." 

The  Ox  blinked  his  one  eye  stupidly,  and  looked 
round.     "  What  psalm  ?  "  asked  the  one-eyed  Ox. 

"  Mine,"  said  the  Jackal,  who  was  very  proud  of 
his  psalm,  "  my  own  composition."  Then  he  sang  it 
over  to  the  Ox,  that  he  might  hear  it. 

"  '  A  temple  all  of  gold  I  found—' 

"That's    this,    you    know,"    he    explained,    pointing   to 
the  scraggy  thatch — 

M 


158  Pride  shall  have  a  Fall 

"  A  temple  all  of  gold  I  found, 
With  golden  lamps  hung  all  around  ; 
And  see  !  the  God  himself  is  here, 
With  two  big  pearls  in  either  ear." 

"  Ah,"  said  the  one-eyed  Ox,  "  I'm  rather  stupid, 
1  fear,  and  it  will  take  me  a  minute  or  two  to  learn 
that  psalm.  It's  a  mighty  fine  psalm,  that ;  I  never 
heard  the  like  in  church.  Suppose  I  say  it  over  to 
myself  while  I'm  a-drinking  ?  that  will  save  time,  and 
it  would  be  a  thousand  pities  to  spoil  a  thing  like  that." 

This  flattered  the  Jackal  so  much  that  he  agreed. 

One-eye  went  down  to  the  pool,  and  took  a  long, 
long  pull  at  the  water.  Then  he  came  out  of  the 
water,  and  went  slowly  up  to  the  Jackal,  as  he  was 
sitting  under  his  thatch,  with  its  string  of  dead  Frogs, 
and  the  two  Frogs  in  the  Jackal's  ears. 

"  Now  then,  booby  ! "  the  Jackal  said,  "  look  sharp, 
the  God  is  waiting." 

The  Ox  opened  a  big  mouth,  and  in  a  very  hoarse 
voice  he  sang — 

"  A  nasty  dirty  thatch  I  found. 
With  dried-up  Frogs  hung  all  around  ; 
And  see  !  the  mangy  Jackal  here, 
With  two  dead  Frogs  in  either  ear." 

You  may  imagine  the  rage  of  the  Jackal  to  hear 
this  !  He  fairly  foamed  at  the  mouth.  "  You  blas- 
phemous beast  ! "  screamed  he,  "  I'll  teach  you  to 
abuse  a  God  ! "  And  with  that  he  jumped  down  off 
his  seat,  and  gave  chase. 

Away  scuttled  the  Ox ;  and  as  he  ran,  the  water 
he  had  been  drinking  went  gurgling  inside  him,  fiippity- 
flop,  flippity-filop. 


Pride  shall  have  a  Fall 


159 


This  sound  rather  frightened  the  Jackal.     "What's 
that  ?  "  he  cried. 

"  A  dog  at  your  heels,"  said  the  Ox. 

The  Jackal  was  so  scared  at  the  very  name  of  dog, 

that  he   turned   about   in   no   time,    blind   with   terror, 

and   away  he    scampered    as   hard    as    he    could    pelt. 

He  was  so  frightened,  that  he  did  not  see  where 

he   was  going ;    so   he   ran   straight   into 

the  midst  of  a  pack  of  hounds,  who 

made  short  work  of  the 

conceited  Jackal. 


The   Kid   and  the  Tiger 


NANNY-GOAT    and    a    Tigress   were    near 
neighbours    in    a    certain     wood,    and    fast 
friends  to  boot.     The  Tigress  had  two  tiger- 
cubs  ;  and  the  family  of  the  Nanny-goat  were 
four  frolicksome  kids,  named  Roley,  Foley, 
Skipster,  and  Jumpster. 
i^  But  the  Tigress  was  jealous  of  her  friend 

the  Nanny-goat,  because  Nanny  had  four 
young  ones,  while  she  had  only  two.  One  day,  as  she 
was  musing  on  the  injustice  of  her  fate,  she  thought 
to  herself,  "What  if  I  eat  up  two  of  Nanny's  kids,  and 
then  things  will  be  equal  ?  They  do  say,  friends  have 
all  things  in  common."  So  to  Nanny-goat  she  hied,  and 
said  she — 

"  Sister  Nanny,  my  little  ones  have  gone  out,  and 
I  am  very  lonely  at  home.  Do  let  one  of  your  dear 
kiddies  come  and  sleep  with  me,  for  company.  Will 
you,  please  ?  " 

"  Gladly  will  I,  sister,"  said  honest  Nanny-goat, 
thinking  no  evil  of  her  friend.  Then  she  ran  out  to 
the  fields,  where  Roley  and  Foley  were  rolling  over 
each  other,  and  Jumpster  was  jumping  over  the  back 
of  Skipster. 

"  Children,  children  ! "  said  Nanny-goat,  "  a  treat  for 

160 


The   Kid  and  the  Tiger  i6i 

you  !  A  kind  friend  has  asked  one  of  you  out  to  spend 
the  night." 

"  Baa  baa  baa  ! "  cried  the  Kids,  running  up  ;  and 
then  three  of  them  called  out  all  together,  dancing 
about  old  Nanny,  "  Let  me  go  !  Let  me  go  !  Let  me 
go  ! "  But  the  fourth,  who  was  a  wise  little  imp  (and 
Roley  it  was,  to  be  sure),  asked  in  a  quiet  tone,  "  Who 
is  it,  Mammy  Nanny-goat  ? " 

"Why,  who  should  it  be  but  your  Aunt  Yellow- 
stripe  ?  "  said  Nanny. 

At  this  they  all  looked  rather  crestfallen  ;  for  although 
Nanny-goat  loved  her  friend  dearly,  all  the  youngsters 
were  afraid  of  her,  for  what  reason  they  could  not  say. 
Children  have  a  way  of  finding  out  their  friends  ;  and 
these  Kids  had  noticed  at  times  a  gleam  in  the  eyes  of 
Auntie  Yellowstripe,  which  boded  ill  to  little  Kids. 

"No-o,  thank  you.  Mammy  Nanny-goat,"  said  Skip- 
ster,  skipping  away. 

"  No-o-o,  thank  you.  Mammy,"  said  Jumpster,  and 
jumped  after  her. 

"  No-o-o-o,  thank  you,"  said  Foley,  and  rolled  away 
by  himself. 

Why  did  Foley  roll  away  by  himself  ?  Because 
Roley  stayed  behind.  Roley  did  not  say  No,  thank 
you ;  on  the  contrary,  he  said  Yes.  Why  Roley  said 
yes  instead  of  no,  was  his  own  concern ;  and  I  think 
Roley  knew  what  he  was  about. 

This  was  how  Roley  went  with  the  Tigress  ;  and  that 
night  the  Tigress  put  him  to  sleep  by  her  side.  She 
cuddled  him  up,  and  made  a  great  fuss  of  him,  thinking 
to  herself,  "  Soft  words  cost  nothing ;  and  when  he  is 
fast  asleep,  we  shall  see  what  we  shall  see." 


1 62  The  Kid  and  the  Tiger 

But  Roley  was  no  such  fool  as  the  Tigress  thought 
him.  So  he  did  not  go  to  sleep,  but  only  pretended  ; 
and  no  sooner  did  Dame  Yellowstripe  begin  to  snore, 
than  up  jumps  Roley,  as  soft  as  you  please,  and  fetches 
out  one  of  Yellowstripe's  own  cubs,  who  were  sleeping 
away  at  the  back  of  the  cave.  He  laid  the  cub  in  his 
own  place,  and  went  into  the  corner  to  sleep  with  the 
other  cub. 

About  midnight  the  Tigress  awoke,  and  as  she  felt 
the  warm  little  thing  nestling  beside  her,  she  chuckled 
to  herself.  Then  she  gave  him  one  tap  with  her  mighty 
paw ;  crack  !  went  his  neck,  and  his  dancing  days  were 
over ;  the  Tigress  gobbled  him  up,  skin,  bones,  and 
teeth.  It  was  pitch  dark,  you  know,  and  she  could  not 
see  that  she  was  eating  her  own  cub.  "  One  less  of  the 
brood  now,"  thought  the  Tigress  ;  turned  over,  and  went 
to  sleep  again. 

Next  morning,  they  all  woke  up  ;  and  Yellowstripe, 
to  her  dismay,  saw  that  Roley  was  rolling  about,  right 
as  a  trivet.  She  looked  round  for  her  own  cubs,  and  lo 
and  behold  !  one  was  missing.  At  first  she  could  not 
make  it  out  in  the  least ;  but  when  it  dawned  upon  her 
what  had  happened,  she  nearly  turned  yellow  all  over 
with  rage  and  disappointment. 

"  Did  you  have  a  good  night,  Roley  dear  ?  "  said  she 
in  a  wheedling  tone  to  the  Kid. 

"  Oh  yes.  Auntie,"  said  the  little  Kid,  "  only  a  gnat 
bit  me." 

This  astonished  the  Tigress,  who  thought  that  the 
Kid  must  be  stronger  than  he  appeared  to  be.  "  Never 
mind,"  said  she  to  herself ;  "  come  to-night,  we  shall  see 
what  we  shall  see." 


The  Kid  and  the  Tiger  163 

That  night  all  went  as  before ;  only  this  time  Roley 
put  a  huge  stone  in  his  place,  and  then  he  ran  off  as  fast 
as  his  legs  could  carry  him.  When  the  Tigress  awoke, 
she  gave  a  pat  to  the  stone  :  it  hurt  her  paw  sadly. 

"Good  heavens,"  said  she,  "what  a  mighty  Kid  it  is, 
to  be  sure  !  I  must  make  short  work  of  him  now  I  have 
the  chance,  or  there  is  no  knowing  what  may  happen. 
When  he  grows  up,  he  may  kill  me."  So  she  gave  a 
herce  bite  at  the  stone,  and  broke  all  her  front  teeth. 

Now  the  Tigress'  fury  knew  no  bounds.  She  went 
raging  about  the  cave,  hunting  in  every  corner  for  Roley ; 
but  Roley  was  not  to  be  found,  because,  as  I  have  told 
you,  he  was  not  there.  So  the  Tigress  was  forced  to 
wait  until  morning  for  her  revenge. 

All  night  long  the  Tigress  lay  awake  with  the  pain 
of  her  teeth  ;  and  when  morning  came,  she  sought  out 
a  familiar  friend  to  take  counsel  with.  This  friend  was 
an  old  one-eyed  Tiger.  The  Tigress  and  the  one-eyed 
Tiger  talked  for  a  long  time  together,  and  as  they  talked 
they  walked.  When  they  came  to  the  end  of  their  talk, 
their  walk  was  also  at  an  end,  and  they  found  themselves 
at  the  mouth  of  Yellowstripe's  den.  There  in  the  den, 
as  calm  as  you  please,  playing  with  the  one  remaining 
Tiger  cub,  was  Roley. 

**  Ha  ha,"  laughed  One-eye,  "  so  there  you  are.  Let 
us  sit  down,  and  I  will  tell  you  a  story." 

"  Do,  do,  Nuncle  One-eye,"  cried  Roley. 

So  they  all  sat  down,  and  One-eye  began.  "When 
I  eat  little  Kids,"  said  One-eye,  "  four  of  them  make  me 
a  mouthful ;  and  I'm  coming  one  of  these  days  to  make 
one  mouthful  of  you  and  your  brother  and  sisters." 

"  Capital,    capital,    Nuncle    One-eye ! "    said    Roley, 


164  The   Kid  and  the  Tiger 

clapping  his  paws ;  **  what  good  stories  you  do  tell, 
Nuncle  One-eye !  Now  I'll  tell  you  a  story.  When 
you  come  to  eat  us  up,  Skipster  will  hold  you  by  the 
forelegs,  and  Jumpster  will  hold  you  by  the  hind  legs, 
and  Foley  will  hold  your  head,  and  Roley  will  chop 
it  off,  if  only  mother  will  give  us  a  light." 

This  terrified  One-eye  extremely,  for  he  was  a  great 
coward.  He  thought  it  all  as  true  as  gospel,  so  he  took 
to  his  heels,  and  left  Yellowstripe  in  the  lurch. 

On  the  way,  he  met  six  other  Tigers,  friends  of  his. 
"  Oh  my  friends  !  "  said  he,  "  I  have  such  a  treat  for  you  ! 
A  fine  fat  Kid,  crying  out  to  be  killed  !  Come  along, 
come  along,  I'll  show  you  the  way,  and  all  I  ask  is  the 
pleasure  of  serving  you."     Cunning  old  One-eye  ! 

The  six  Tigers  believed  all  that  One-eye  said,  and 
away  they  all  trotted  together  towards  the  place  where 
Roley  lived.  They  knew  he  would  go  home  sooner  or 
later ;  and  indeed  he  was  there  already,  and  saw  them 
coming,  so  he  climbed  up  a  tree.  Goats  are  wonderfully 
good  at  climbing  rocks,  but  I  think  most  of  them  cannot 
climb  trees ;  still,  whatever  may  be  true  of  other  goats, 
Roley  could.  If  it  were  not  so,  this  story  would  never 
have  been  written.  So  Roley  climbed  up  a  tree,  and  sat 
on  a  branch,  with  his  legs  all  dangling  in  the  air. 

The  first  Tiger  gave  a  jump,  and  missed  him.  Number 
two  gave  a  jump,  and  missed  him.  They  all  jumped,  one 
after  another,  and  not  one  of  them  could  touch  Roley ; 
who  sat  and  laughed  at  them  so  heartily,  that  he  nearly 
fell  off  his  perch. 

At  last,  when  they  were  tired  of  jumping,  and  jumping, 
up  gets  old  One-eye,  and  says,  "  I  know  how  to  get  at 
him.     I'll  stand  here,  and  you  get  on  my  back,  and  then 


The  Kid  and  the  Tiger  165 

the  rest  of  you  one  a-top  of  another,  and  then  we  shall 
catch  him  nicely."  They  all  thought  this  an  excellent 
idea ;  so  One-eye  propped  his  old  carcass  against  the 
tree,  and  the  other  Tigers  mounted  one  on  another's 
shoulders,  until  there  they  were,  all  seven  in  a  pyramid. 
Then  the  topmost  Tiger  stretched  out  his  paw,  and  all 
but  got  hold  of  Roley. 

Thereupon  One-eye  cocked  up  his  solitary  eye,  to  see 
how  things  were  going  on  up  aloft ;  and  seeing  this, 
Roley  called  out — 

"  Mother,  give  me  a  lump  of  mud,  and  I'll  hit  the 

brute  in  his  sound  eye,  and  then  we  will  finish  him  off." 

When  One-eye  heard  this,  he  gave  a  great  start,  and 

down  toppled  the  whole  seven  in  a  heap,  one  a-top  of 

the  next,  spitting  and   roaring   and  scratching.     They 

were  so  much  taken  aback,  that  they  imagined  all  sorts 

of  powerful  beasts  to  be  fighting  with  them,  when  it  was 

only  their  own  selves,  biting  each  other ;  and  the 

end  of  all  was,  that  as  soon  as  the  seven  Tigers 

had  each  got  his  four  legs  to  himself,  off 

they  went  helter-skelter  into  the  forest, 

and  never  more  troubled  Mammy 

Nanny-goat  and  her  four 

frolicsome 

Kids. 


The  Stag,   the   Crow,   and 
the  Jackal 


NCE  upon  a  time  there  was  a  Stag  living  in 
a  certain  jungle,  and  in  the  same  jungle  lived 
a  Crow.  These  two  were  bosom  friends. 
Why  a  Stag  should  take  a  fancy  to  a 
Crow,  I  cannot  say ;  but  so  it  was ; 
and  if  you  do  not  believe  it,  you  had 
better  not  read  any  further. 

It  so  befell  that  a  Jackal  came  by 
one  day,  and  his  eye  fell  on  this  Stag, 
and  a  fine  plump  Stag  he  was.  The  Jackal's 
mouth  began  to  water.  How  he  would  like 
to  make  a  meal  of  so  dainty  a  piece  of  flesh.  But  he 
knew  it  was  of  no  use  trying  to  attack  the  Stag,  who 
seemed  very  strong.  Still,  by  hook  or  by  crook,  that 
Stag  he  would  have.  So  in  the  depths  of  his  cunning 
heart  he  concocted  a  trick,  of  which  you  shall  shortly 
hear. 

The  Jackal  watched  his  chance,  and  as  soon  as  he 
had  found  the  Stag  alone,  he  began  to  say,  sidling  up 
to  the  Stag,  and  whispering  in  his  ear — 

"  Beware  of  that  Crow ;  he's  fooling  thee.     Beware, 

beware  all   birds   of   the  air.     There's  no  trusting  any 

166 


The  Stag,   Crow,  and  Jackal  167 

bird,  let  alone  a  Crow,  who  is  worst  of  the  whole 
feathered  tribe.  Now  you  and  I,  who  never  try  in 
the  air  to  fly,  good  honest  gentlemen  with  four  legs 
apiece,  we  are  marked  out  for  friends  by  Nature 
herself." 

Will  you  be  surprised  to  hear  that  the  Stag  listened 
to  the  crafty  and  slanderous  words,  and  deserted  his 
friend  the  Crow  ?  When  your  hair  is  grey  you  will 
know  that  such  is  the  way  of  the  world,  and  that  a 
true  friend  who  sticks  to  the  end,  is  harder  to  find 
than  a  diamond  mine. 

But  although  this  Stag  was  shallow-hearted  and 
weak,  not  so  the  Crow.  He  was  a  true  friend,  and 
he  was  cut  to  the  heart  by  the  unkindness  of  his  friend 
the  Stag ;  but  he  wasted  no  time  in  fruitless  tears.  He 
went  about  his  work  as  usual,  and  waited  for  a  chance 
of  winning  back  his  recreant  friend. 

Well,  Stag  and  Jackal  scoured  about  the  woods 
together,  and  the  Jackal  did  his  best  to  make  himself 
agreeable.  In  this  he  had  poor  success  ;  for  though 
the  Stag  tried  hard  to  like  his  new  comrade,  yet  he 
could  not  help  seeing  that  he  was  dirty  ;  moreover, 
the  Jackal  ate  all  sorts  of  dead  animals,  but  the  Stag 
was  a  vegetarian,  and  did  not  approve  of  this  kind  of 
food.  But  though  the  Stag  had  qualms  now  and  again, 
he  was  not  strong  enough  to  break  loose  from  the 
friendship  of  the  Jackal. 

But  the  time  was  ripening  for  the  Jackal's  blow. 
He  knew  a  place  where  huntsmen  used  to  set  gins 
and  snares,  to  catch  the  wild  animals.  So  one  day, 
as  he  and  the  Stag  were  out  a-walking  together,  the 
Jackal  so  managed  that  they  passed  by  this  place.    The 


1 68  The  Stag,   Crow,  and  Jackal 

Jackal  took  good  care  to  keep  clear  of  the  snare ;  but 
the  innocent  Stag  knew  nothing  of  snares  or  gins,  so 
into  a  snare  he  stept,  and  snap  !  he  was  fast. 

Now  was  the  time  for  a  true  friend  to  show  his 
friendship.  But  the  Jackal,  as  we  already  know,  was 
a  humbug  ;  accordingly,  all  he  did  was  to  sit  by  the 
side  of  the  Stag,  and  try  not  to  look  pleased. 

"Oh  dear,  what  shall  I  do?"  said  the  Stag,  when 
he  found  himself  caught.  "Oh  my  friend,  do  help 
me  out." 

"  You  shock  me,  friend,"  said  the  Jackal,  pulling  a 
long  face ;  "  surely  you  have  not  forgotten  that  it  is 
Sunday  ?  We  are  told  in  the  Ten  Commandments  to 
do  no  work  on  the  Sabbath  day.  If  it  were  not  so, 
how  gladly  would  I  help  you  ! "  So  saying,  he  wiped 
away  a  crocodile  tear.  He  sat  down  and  waited  in 
the  hope  that  the  Stag  would  die,  and  then  he  would 
eat  him. 

But  the  faithful  Crow  was  not  far.  Though  his  friend 
the  Stag  would  not  so  much  as  cast  him  a  look,  the 
Crow  followed  him  ever,  biding  his  time ;  and  now  the 
time  had  come. 

The  Crow  perched  on  a  neighbouring  tree,  and 
said — 

"  Dear  friend,  I  am  only  a  weak  little  bird,  and  I 
cannot  help  you  ;  but  I  can  teach  you  to  help  your- 
self. My  advice  is,  pretend  to  be  dead,  and  when 
the  Hunter  comes,  he  will  open  the  snare  without 
any  care,  and  you  can  escape." 

"  Thank  you,  long-suffering  friend  ! "  said  the 
Stag ;  and  so  he  did.  When  the  Huntsman  came, 
he  thought  the  Stag  was  dead  ;  he  opened  the  snare, 


The  Stag,  Crow,  and  Jackal  169 

and   before   he   was  aware,   the   Stag  was   up   and   off 
and  away. 

The  Stag  asked  his  friend  the  Crow  to  forgive 

him,   and   they  hved   happily  together  as 

before.     As  for  the  treacherous 

Jackal,  he  never  came 

near  them  more. 


The  Monkey  and  the  Crows 


N  a  certain  land,  a  flock  of  Crows 

built  their  nests  in  the  branches  of 

a  huge  cotton-tree. 

In  that  country,  the  climate  is 

not  the  least  like  ours.     It  is  hot 

all  the  year  round,  and  for  eight 

months  the  sun  blazes  like  a  fiery 

furnace,  so  that  the  people  who 

live  there  are  burnt  as  black  as  your  boot ;  then  after 

eight  months  comes  the  rain,  and  the  rain  comes  down 

in  bucketsful,  with  lightning  fit  to  blind  you,  and  thunder 

enough  to  crack  your  head.    These  Crows  were  quite 

happy  in  their  nests,  whatever  happened  ;   for  when  it 

was  hot,  the  leaves  of  the  trees  sheltered   them   from 

the  sun,  and  in  the  rainy  season  the  leaves  kept  them 

pretty  dry. 

One    evening    there    came    a    terrible    storm,   with 

torrents  of  rain  like  Noah's  flood.     In  the  midst  of  it, 

the  Crows  noticed  a    Monkey   sliding   along,  drenched 

and  draggle-tailed,  looking   like  a  drowned    Rat.      The 

Crows  set  up  a  chorus  of  caws,  and  called  out — 

"  O  Monkey,  what  a  fool  you   must   be  !     Look   at 

us,  dry  and  comfortable,  in  our  nests  of  rags  and  twigs. 

If  we,  with  only  our  little  beaks  to  help  us,  can  make 

170 


The  Monkey  and  the  Crows 


171 


comfortable  nests,  why  can't 
you,  with  two  hands  and  two 
feet  and  a  tail  ?  " 

You  might  have  thought  the 
Monkey  would  take  this  advice 
to  heart.  But  not  a  bit  of  it. 
Monkeys  are  naturally  a  lazy 
tribe,  and  they  are  full  of  envy, 
hatred,  and  malice.  What  they 
like  best  is  destroying  whatever 
they  can  lay  their  hands  on ; 
and  when  I  look  upon  some 
of  the  nations  of  this  globe,  I 
cannot  help  thinking  that  they 
really  must  be  descended  from 
Monkeys.  So  this  Monkey  snapt 
and  snarled,  and  said  to  the 
Crows — 

"Just  wait  till  morning,  and 
then  we'll  see  what  a  Monkey 
can  do." 

The  simple  birds  were  de- 
lighted to  hear  this,  and  looked 
forward  to  seeing  the  Monkey 
do  something  wonderfully  clever, 
with  his  tail  and  his  two  hands 
and  two  feet. 

Morning  came,  and  the  rain 
was  over.  The  Monkey  climbed 
up  into  the  tree,  and  in  his  rage 
and  envy  he  tore  all  the  Crows' 
nests  to  pieces. 


172  The  Monkey  and  the  Crows 

Then   the   Crows  were   sorry   they   spoke,   and   de- 
termined for   the   future   to   mind   their   own  business, 
and   let   fools   alone.      For,   as   the  wise   man 
said,  "To  give  good  advice  to  a  fool 
is   like   pouring   oil  upon 
the  fire." 


The  Swan  and  the  Paddy-Bird 


WILD  Swan  was  flying  once  to  his  home,  when 
le  paused  to  rest  on  a  tree.  This  was  a  kind 
of  tree  you  have  most  Hkely  never  seen. 
It  was  very  tall,  and  had  no  branches  upon 
it  until  you  came  to  the  top,  but  at  the 
top  was  a  large  clump  of  green  leaves,  and 
bunches  of  cocoa-nuts  hanging  down. 
It  so  happened  that  on  this  tree  was 
the  nest  of  a  Paddy-bird.  A  Paddy-bird  is  a  bird  some- 
thing like  a  heron,  which  feeds  on  fish  and  frogs.  At 
the  moment  when  the  Swan  perched  upon  the  tree,  this 
Paddy-bird  was  sitting  demurely  on  the  edge  of  a  pond 
that  was  below  the  tree,  watching  the  water  for  a  rise. 
She  had  no  fishing-rod,  but  when  she  saw  a  little  fish  or 
a  frog  swim  past,  out  went  her  beak  like  a  flash,  and  the 
fish  was  pierced.  Then  she  ate  the  fish,  or  carried  it  off 
to  her  little  ones  in  the  nest. 

When  the  Paddy-bird  chanced  to  look  round,  she 
saw  the  Swan  sitting  upon  her  tree.  She  was  frightened 
at  this,  thinking  that  perhaps  it  was  some  bird  of  prey, 
come  to  devour  her  chicks.  So  she  left  her  fishing,  and 
at  once  flew  up  to  the  top  of  the  cocoa-nut  tree.  The 
Swan  looked  harmless  enough  when  she  came  closer,  so 

N  173 


174  The  Swan  and  the  Paddy-bird 

plucking  up  courage,  the  Paddy-bird  thus  addressed 
him — 

"  Good-day,  sir.     May  I  ask  who  you  are  ?  " 

"  I  am  a  Swan,"  said  the  other,  "  and  I  am  on  my 
way  home ;  but  as  it  is  a  hot  day,  I  thought  I  would  rest 
awhile  on  your  tree.     I  hope  you  have  no  objection  ?  " 

"Welcome,  my  lord  Swan,  welcome !"  said  the  Paddy- 
bird.  "  I  only  wish  I  could  offer  you  entertainment. 
But  I  am  ashamed  to  say  that  I  have  no  food  worth 
your  taking.  I  am  a  poor  bird,  and  you  know  we 
Paddy-birds  eat  only  small  fish  and  frogs,  which  your 
highness  would  hardly  touch." 

"  Oh,  never  mind  for  that,"  answered  the  Swan ; 
"  thank  you  all  the  same,  but  I  can  find  my  own  food 
on  this  tree  of  yours." 

This  set  our  Paddy-bird's  heart  all  a-flutter,  for 
what  could  he  mean  but  her  brood  ?  However,  all 
was  well  in  a  minute  ;  when  she  saw  the  Swan  go  to  one 
of  the  green  cocoa-nuts  hanging  to  the  tree.  You  have 
seen,  I  suppose,  three  little  soft  places  at  the  top  of  a 
cocoa-nut,  which  are  holes  in  the  shell  filled  up  with 
pulp.  The  Swan  pierced  his  bill  through  one  of  these 
holes,  and  drank  the  milk  inside  the  cocoa-nut.  Then 
he  gave  some  of  the  milk  to  the  Paddy-bird,  and  flew 
away. 

This  milk  tasted  very  nice,  and  the  Paddy-bird  began 
to  say  to  herself,  "  What  a  fool  I  have  been  all  these 
years  !  Here  am  I,  watching  and  waiting  all  day  long 
for  a  frog,  and  nasty  things  they  are  too,  and  all  this 
while  there  was  plenty  of  delicious  milk  within  a  yard 
of  my  nest !  Well,  good-bye  fish,  and  good-bye  frogs  ; 
I  have  done  with  you  now  for  ever." 


The  Swan  and  the  Paddy-bird  17s 

The  next  time  the  Paddy-bird  felt  hungry,  she  flew 
to  a  cocoa-nut  and  began  to  peck  at  it.  But  she  did  not 
know  the  secret  of  the  three  little  holes  at  the  top  of 
the  cocoa-nut ;  so  she  pecked,  and  pecked,  and  got  no 
further.  At  last  she  gathered  all  her  strength,  and  gave 
a  tremendous  peck  at  the  cocoa-nut.  Snap  !  her  bill 
broke  off,  and  the  blood  ran  out,  and  very  soon  the  poor 
Paddy-bird  had  bled  to  death. 

Next   day,  the  Swan   happened  to  fly  by  that  way 

again  ;  and  coming  to  the  tree,  he  found  his  friend  the 

Paddy-bird   lying   dead   on   the  ground,   with    her   bill 

snapt   off  clean.      He   understood   at   once    what    had 

happened,  and  said  to  himself,  "This  is  what 

comes  of  trying  to  do  what  one  is  not 

fit  for.     Let  the  cobbler  stick  to 

his  last,  or  misfortune 

follows  fast." 


What  IS  a  Man? 


N  a  certain  forest,  a  Lioness  dwelt 
who  had  one  cub.  This  cub  did 
not  go  to  school,  as  you  one  day 
will  go  ;  but  he  learned  his  lessons 
at  home.  And  what  do  you  think 
his  lessons  were  ?  Not  multipli- 
cation which  is  vexation  ;  not  the 
Rule  of  Three  which  puzzles  me ; 
not  spelling  and  copy-books.  No  ;  the  Lioness  had 
only  one  lesson  to  teach  her  cub,  and  that  was,  to 
avoid  mankind  as  if  they  were  poison.  Every  day, 
morning  and  evening,  she  taught  him  for  an  hour ; 
telling  him  again  and  again,  that  of  all  the  beasts  of 
the  forest  he  need  fear  none,  for  a  lion  is  stronger  than 
any,  but  man  he  must  fear  and  keep  clear  of. 

Well,  the  little  Lion  grew  big ;  and  as  often  happens 
to  children  as  well  as  lions'  cubs,  he  grew  conceited  too. 
He  could  not  believe  that  his  mother  was  old  enough  to 
know  better  than  he  ;  no,  he  would  see  for  himself.  So 
one  fine  day,  this  Lion  set  out  on  a  voyage  of  discovery. 
The  first  thing  he  saw  was  an  Ox.  This  Ox  was  a 
fine  sturdy  animal,  and  the  Lion  felt  rather  nervous  to 
see  such  hoofs  and  horns.  You  must  remember  he  was 
young  and  ignorant,  and  had  hardly  seen  any  animal  but 


What  is  a  Man  ?  177 

his  mother  and  father.  So  he  went  up  to  the  Ox,  and 
said  timidly — 

"  Good  morning,  sir.  Will  you  be  good  enough  to 
tell  me  if  you  are  a  Man  ?  " 

If  an  Ox  could  laugh,  that  Ox  would  have  laughed 
in  the  face  of  the  Lion's  cub.  But  an  Ox  is  always 
solemn,  like  a  Turk,  though  he  does  not  love  blood- 
shed as  a  Turk  does.  This  Ox  was  chewing  the  cud, 
munching  and  mouthing  with  great  calmness,  so  as 
to  get  the  full  flavour  of  the  rich  grass.  He  turned 
his  meek  eyes,  and  stared  at  the  Lion.  Then  he 
said — 

"  A  Man  !  God  forbid,  A  Man  is  a  terrible  creature. 
He  makes  slaves  of  us  Oxen,  and  puts  a  yoke  on  our 
necks  and  fastens  us  to  a  thing  called  a  plough  ;  and 
makes  us  pull  the  plough  to  and  fro,  up  and  down,  till 
we  are  tired  to  death.  If  we  won't  go,  he  sticks  a  prod 
into  us,  which  hurts  us  very  much.  I  can't  think  what  is 
the  use  of  all  this  pother  ;  we  get  no  good  of  it.  And 
when  we  are  old,  and  can  work  no  more,  he  kills  us,  and 
eats  our  flesh,  and  the  skin  he  makes  into  shoes  for  his 
own  feet.  Keep  clear  of  Men,  if  you  value  your  life." 
Then  the  Ox  turned  his  head  away,  and  went  on  with 
his  chewing. 

This  gave  our  Lion  something  to  think  about.  He 
thought  the  Ox  a  very  fine  animal  indeed,  and  yet,  said 
the  Ox,  Man  was  stronger. 

The  Lion  went  his  ways,  and  by-and-by,  what  should 
he  see  but  a  Camel.  If  the  Ox  was  a  fine  creature,  here 
was  a  finer  ;  ever  so  tall,  with  a  hump  on  his  back,  and  a 
long  neck,  and  great  long  legs.  Surely  this  must  be  the 
terrible  Man  he  had  heard  so  much  of.     But  to  make 


lyS  What  is  a  Man  ? 

certain,  he  approached  the  Camel  with   great  respect, 
and  said — 

"Good  morning,  sir.  Pray,  will  you  tell  me  if  you 
are  a  Man  ?  " 

The  Camel  turned  his  long  neck,  and  sniffed  and 
sneered  as  Camels  have  a  way  of  doing,  and  a  most 
unpleasant  way  it  is. 

"  Pooh  !  "  said  he.  "  Stuff  !  poof !  you  oaf !  you  think 
me  a  Man  ?  I  wish  I  were  a  Man,  wouldn't  I  make  short 
work  of  you  !  A  man,  quotha  !  Why,  I  am  a  slave  to 
that  same  Man.  They  catch  us,  these  Men,  and  make 
a  hole  in  our  noses,  and  put  a  ring  in  it — do  you  see  my 
ring  ?  How  do  you  think  I  like  a  hole  made  in  my 
nose,  as  if  two  holes  were  not  enough  I  Then  they  tie 
a  rope  to  the  ring,  and  lead  us  about  all  day  long  just 
where  they  please,  without  a  with  your  leave,  or  by  your 
leave !  And  they  make  us  squat  down  in  the  mud, 
and  put  a  great  load  on  our  backs,  enough  to  crush  a 
whipper-snapper  like  you.  Groan  as  we  may,  it's  all 
of  no  use,  they  do  what  they  choose.  Man  !  the  very 
name  makes  me  shiver.  Get  out,  and  leave  me  alone  ! " 
This  frightened  our  Lion,  because  who  knew  whether 
the  great  animal  might  not  kill  him,  if 
it  came  into  his  head,  so  the  Lion  went 
away  as  fast  as  he  could. 

In  a  little  while, he  espied  an  Elephant. 
Here  was  a  monster,  to  be  sure  !  A  great 
j*?  black  mountain,  with  a  long  nose  curling 
about,  and  huge  white  teeth  sticking 
out,  and  big  ears  flapping.  The  Lion  was  quite  terrified 
this  time,  and  would  not  go  near  the  Elephant,  until  he 
suddenly  saw  that  the  Elephant  had  a  rope  round  his 


What  is  a  Man  ?  179 

tusks,  by  which  he  was  tied  fast  to  a  stake.  Then  he 
plucked  up  courage  to  approach,  and  said — 

"  Good  morning,  my  lord.  Please  will  you  tell  me, 
are  you  a  Man  ?  " 

The  Elephant  trumpeted  loudly.  That  was  his  way 
of  laughing  at  the  idea  that  he  could  be  mistaken  for 
a  Man. 

"  Hooroo  !  hooroo  ! "  he  shrieked.  "  A  Man  !  Hoo- 
roo  !  No,  but  a  Man  is  my  master,  and  that's  the  truth. 
A  Man  tied  me  to  this  post.  Cruel  and  selfish  brutes, 
are  men ;  and  with  all  my  strength,  I  am  no  match 
for  a  Man.  They  get  on  our  backs,  a  dozen  of  them 
at  a  time,  and  make  us  fetch,  and  carry,  and  drive  us 
about  by  sticking  a  sharp  spike  into  our  skulls.  Don't 
you  go  near  a  Man,  if  you  love  your  life  ;  why,  bless 
me,  they  will  make  mincemeat  of  you  !  Hooroo  ! " 
The  Elephant  swished  his  trunk  all  round  him  in  his 
excitement. 

Our  Lion  had  now  seen  three  astonishing  creatures, 
and  they  all  said  that  a  Man  was  stronger  than  they 
were.  What  could  this  terrible  creature  be  like  ?  He 
must  be  a  mountain  indeed,  if  he  was  to  master  such 
a  beast  as  the  black  Elephant.  Yet  the  black  creature 
said  that  Men  got  on  his  back,  a  dozen  of  them  at 
a  time.  The  Lion  could  not  understand  it  at  all.  He 
shook  his  head,  and  stalked  away  thoughtful. 

As  the  Lion  was  going  along,  he  saw  a  puny  and 
weak-looking  thing,  walking  upright  on  two  legs.  He 
seemed  to  be  a  kind  of  monkey,  thought  the  Lion.  It 
never  entered  his  head  that  this  little  thing  could  be 
a  Man,  but  he  trotted  up  to  him  gaily,  and  said — 

"  Good  morning,  my  friend.     Can  you  tell  me  where 


i8o 


What  is  a  Man  ? 


I   have  been  hunting  for  one  all 


I   can  find  a  Man  ? 
the  morning." 

"  I  am  a  Man,"  said  the  other. 

At   this   the    Lion    laughed    in    his   face. 

Man  !  "  said  he. 


"You   a 

"  Come, 

come ;  I   may  be  young, 

but  I  am  no  fool,  my  good 

fellow.    Why,  you  are  not 

so  big  as  one  leg  of  that 

mountain  over  there,  who 

was  tied  to  a  stake,  as  he  said, 

by  a  Man." 

"  All  the  same,"  the  Man  said, 
"  I  am  one  of  them." 

"  But  look  here,"  the  Lion 
went  on,  "  my  father  and  mother 
both  say  that  Man  is  a  terrible 
and  cruel  creature,  and  the  only 
creature  a  Lion  need  fear.  Now, 
either  you  are  no  Man,  or  else 
my  father  and  mother  are  quite 
wrong." 

"Well,"  said  the  Man,  "  I  am 
not  nearly  so  strong  as  you  are, 
or  the  Elephant  and  Camel,  or 
even  the  Ox.  As  you  say,  I  am 
not  much  to  look  at,  but  I  have 
one  power  which  you  all  lack." 
"  Indeed/'  said  the  Lion,  "  and  what  may  that  be  ?  " 
The  Man  answered,  "  Reason." 

"  I  never  heard  of  reason,"  said  the  Lion.     "  Please 
explain  it  to  me,  will  you  ? " 


What  is  a  Man  ? 


ibi 


"  It  is  not  easy  to  explain  what  reason  is,"  replied 
the  Man ;  "  but  if  you  like,  I  will  show  you  how  it 
works." 

The  Lion  was  pleased,     "  Oh  please  do,"  he  said. 

I  must  tell  you  that  this  Man  was  a  woodcutter, 
and  he  had  an  axe  upon  his  shoulder.  He  now  lifted 
this  axe  and  drove  a  blow  into  a  stout  sapling  which 
grew  hard  by.  When  he  had  split  the  sapling,  he 
took  a  wedge  of  wood,  and  hammered  it  in  with  the 
back  of  his  axe,  until  there  was  a  large  cleft  in  the 
trunk  of  the  sapling.  "Now  then,"  said  the  Man,  "just 
put  your  paw  in  that  hole." 

The  Lion  obediently  put  his  paw  mto  the  cleft,  and 
then  the  Man  pulled  out  the  wedge  from  the  cleft. 
The  sapling  closed  tight  on  the  paw  of  the  Lion,  and 
squeezed  it.  "Now,"  said  the  Man,  "you  know  what 
reason  is." 

But  the  Lion  no  longer  cared  to  hear  about  reason  ; 
all  he  wanted  was  to  get  his  paw  out  of  the  cleft.  He 
pulled  and  he  tugged,  he  roared  and  he  struggled ; 
but  all  of  no  use  ;  he  could  not  by  any  means  get  his 
paw  free.  The  end  of  all  was,  in  madness  and  fury 
he  dashed  his  head  against  the  ground,  and  died. 

This  was  how  the  Lion  learnt  how  terrible  a  being 

is   Man ;    but  unluckily,   you   see,   his    knowledge   was 

of  no  use  to  him  or  any  one  else,  because  it  cost  him 

his   life.      If  he   had   listened   to  his  mother's 

teaching,  he  might  be  living  still,  and 

you  would  not  be  reading 

this  story. 


The  Wound  and  the  Scar 


IHERE  was  once  a  forest  where  a  Lion 
dwelt.  Over  all  the  beasts  of  the 
forest  the  Lion  lorded  it,  and  of  men 
not  one  durst  come  near  the  place  for 
fear  of  King  Lion  ;  none,  that  is,  except 
one  only,  a  Woodman  who  lived 
in  a  little  hut  just  upon  the  borders 
of  the  woodland ;  and  between 
the  forest  and  the  hut  a  river  flowed.  This 
Woodman  came  often  into  the  forest,  to  cut 
wood  ;  and  he  had  no  fear  to  do  so,  because  the  Lion 
and  he  were  bosom  friends.  Such  fast  friends  they  were 
that  if  ever  the  Woodman  failed  to  pay  his  daily  visit, 
the  Lion  was  grieved  and  missed  him  sorely. 

It  happened  once  that  the  Woodman  fell  ill  of  a 
fever.  In  his  woodland  hut  he  lay  all  alone,  for  no  wife 
was  there,  or  sister  to  care  for  him.  So  he  tossed  and 
moaned,  and  waited  for  the  hours  to  pass. 

Of  course  during  all  this  time  the  Woodman  could 
not  visit  the  forest,  and  his  friend  the  Lion  missed  him. 
"What  can  be  the  matter,"  thought  King  Lion.     "Has 

some  enemy  killed  him,  or  has  he  fallen  sick  ?  "     At  last 

182 


The  Wound  and  the  Scar  183 

he  could  no  longer  bear  the  suspense,  and  set  out 
in  search  of  the  Woodman. 

I  do  not  think  that  the  Lion  had  ever  yet  been  to 
his  friend's  house ;  and  for  all  he  knew  he  might  be 
walking  straight  into  a  trap.  But  he  was  so  fond  of  the 
Woodman  that  he  never  thought  of  danger.  All  he 
wanted  was  to  see  his  friend.  Accordingly,  he  followed 
the  path  by  which  the  Woodman  came  into  the  woods ; 
and  in  due  time  this  path  led  him  to  the  bank  of  a  wide 
and  swift  river,  and  over  on  the  opposite  bank  was 
a  hut. 

In  plunged  the  Lion,  not  waiting  to  think;  and 
though  there  were  crocodiles  in  that  river  ready  to  eat 
him,  and  though  the  current  bade  fair  to  sweep  him 
away,  so  strong  was  his  love  for  his  friend  that  he  swam 
across. 

The  Woodman's  house  stood  within  an  enclosure, 
and  all  the  doors  and  gates  were  shut ;  but  the  Lion 
jumped  over  the  wall,  and  searched  about,  until  he 
managed  somehow  to  force  his  way  into  the  house. 
Then  he  saw  his  friend  lying  upon  a  bed,  and  very  ill, 
all  alone,  with  no  one  to  tend  him. 

How  grieved  the  Lion  was  to  see  his  friend,  you  can 
imagine  better  than  I  can  tell.  The  Lion  knelt  down 
by  his  friend's  side,  and  began  to  lick  him  all  over. 
This  woke  the  man  from  his  dazed  condition  ;  and  when 
he  found  the  Lion  licking  his  body,  he  did  not  like  the 
smell  of  the  Lion,  so  he  turned  his  head  away,  with  a 
grunt  of  disgust. 

Now  I  think  this  was  very  unkind,  because  the  Lion 
had  no  other  way  of  showing  how  much  he  cared  for 
his  friend.     Think  what  a  long  way  he  had  come  to  see 


184  The   Wound  and  the  Scar 

his  friend,  and  think  what  danger  he  had  faced  ;  and 
now  to  be  met  with  a  grunt  of  disgust !  The  Lion 
stopped  Hcking  the  Woodman,  and  got  up  slowly,  and 
went  away.  Back  he  swam  over  the  deep  and  swift 
river,  but  all  the  heart  was  taken  out  of  him  ;  he  cared 
not  for  the  crocodiles,  indeed  now  he  would  not  have 
been  very  sorry  if  a  crocodile  had  devoured  him.  One 
crocodile  did  actually  get  a  nip  at  his  leg,  and  left  a 
wound  there.  Back  to  his  den  he  crept,  solitary  and 
sad.  And  when  he  got  to  his  den,  he  lay  down,  sick 
of  his  friend's  fever,  which  he  had  taken  by  licking 
him. 

In  a  week  or  so,  the  Woodman  was  well  again ;  and 
thinking  nothing  of  what  had  passed,  he  shouldered  his 
axe,  and  trudged  away  to  cut  wood.  When  the  time 
came  for  his  midday  meal,  he  went  as  his  custom  was 
to  the  Lion's  den ;  and  there  he  found  his  friend  the 
Lion,  thin  and  sick. 

"Why,  friend,  what  is  the  matter?"  the  Woodman 
asked. 

"  I  am  ill,"  said  the  Lion. 

"  What  is  it  ?  "  asked  the  Woodman  again. 

But  the  Lion  would  answer  nothing ;  and  do  what 
he  would,  the  man  could  not  get  him  to  say  another 
word.     So  he  left  him  for  that  day,  and  went  home. 

For  several  days  after,  the  man  did  the  same  thing ; 
and  gradually  the  Lion  got  better.  At  last  one  day, 
when  the  Lion  was  quite  well  again,  the  man  said 
to  him — 

"Tell  me,  good  friend  Lion,  what  it  is  that  has  made 
you  so  silent  and  gloomy  of  late  ?" 

Then  answered  the  Lion,  "O  Woodman,  I  will  tell 


The  Wound  and  the  Scar  185 

you.  When  you  were  ill,  I  swam  a  swift  river  and 
faced  death,  all  for  your  sake  ;  I  came  into  your  house 
when  you  lay  deserted,  and  licked  your  body,  and  took 
the  fever  which  you  had  into  my  veins  ;  and  this  wound 
which  you  see,  I  received  from  a  crocodile  as  I  was 
swimming  across  on  my  way  back.  But  you  received 
me  with  scorn,  and  turned  away  your  face  in  disgust. 
The  fever  is  gone,  and  this  wound  (as  you  see)  is  healed ; 
but  the  wound  in  my  heart  can  never  heal.  You  are  no 
true  friend  ;  and  from  henceforth  our  ways  lie  apart." 

The  man  was  ashamed  of  his  unkindness,  but  it  was 
too  late,  for,  as  the  poet  says — 

"  Who  snaps  the  thread  of  friendship,  never  more 
Can  join  it  as  it  once  was  joined  before." 


The  Cat  and  the   Parrot 


|NCE  upon  a  time,  a  Cat  and  a 
Parrot  had  joint  lease  of  a  certain 
piece  of  land,  which  they  tilled 
together. 

One  day  the  Cat  said  to  the 
Parrot,  "  Come,  friend,  let  us  go 
to  the  field." 

Said  the  Parrot,  "  I  can't  come 
now,  because  I  am  whetting  my  bill  on  the  branch  of 
a  mango-tree." 

So  the  Cat  went  alone,  and  ploughed  the  field. 
When  the  field  was  ploughed,  the  Cat  came  to  the 
Parrot  again,  and  said — 

"  Come,  friend,  let  us  sow  the  corn." 
Said  the  Parrot,  "  I  can't  come  now,  because  I  am 
whetting  my  beak  on  the  branch  of  a  mango-tree." 

So  the  Cat  went  alone,  and  sowed  the  corn.  The 
corn  took  root,  the  corn  sprouted,  it  put  forth  the  blade, 
and  the  ear,  and  the  ripe  corn  in  the  ear.  Then  again 
the  Cat  came  to  the  Parrot,  and  said — 

"  Come,  friend,  let  us  go  and  gather  the  harvest." 
Said  the  Parrot,  "  I  can't  come  now,  because  I  am 
whetting  my  beak  on  the  branch  of  a  mango-tree." 

So  the  Cat  went  alone,  and  gathered  the  harvest. 
She  put  it  away  in  barns,  and  made  ready  for  threshing. 

1 86 


The  Cat  and  the  Parrot  189 

When  all  was  ready  for  the  threshing,  again  the  Cat 
came  to  the  Parrot,  and  said — 

"Come,  friend,  let  us  thresh  the  corn." 

Said  the  Parrot,  "  I  can't  come  now,  because  I  am 
whetting  my  beak  on  the  branch  of  a  mango-tree." 

So  the  Cat  went,  and  threshed  all  the  corn  alone. 
Then  the  Cat  came  back  to  the  Parrot,  and  said — 

"  Come,  friend,  let  us  go  and  winnow  the  grain  from 
the  chaff." 

Said  the  Parrot,  "  I  can't  come  now,  because  I  am 
whetting  my  beak  on  the  branch  of  a  mango-tree." 

So  the  Cat  winnowed  the  grain  from  the  chaff  alone. 
Then  she  came  back  once  again  to  the  Parrot,  and 
said — 

"  Come,  friend,  the  grain  is  all  winnowed  and  sifted  ; 
come  and  divide  it  between  us." 

"  Certainly,"  said  the  Parrot,  and  came  at  once.  You 
see  the  Cat  had  done  all  the  work,  but  the  Parrot  was 
quite  ready  to  share  the  profit.  They  divided  the  corn 
into  two  halves,  and  the  Cat  put  her  half  away  some- 
where, and  the  Parrot  carried  his  half  to  his  nest. 

Then  the  Cat  and  the  Parrot  agreed  to  invite  each 
other  to  dinner  every  day ;  that  is  to  say,  the  Cat  asks 
the  Parrot  to-day,  and  the  Parrot  asks  the  Cat  to-morrow. 
The  Cat's  turn  came  first.  Then  the  Cat  went  to  market 
and  bought  a  ha'porth  of  milk,  a  ha'porth  of  sugar, 
and  a  ha'porth  of  rice.  When  the  Parrot  came  there 
was  nothing  but  this  stingy  fare.  Moreover,  the  Cat 
was  so  inhospitable,  that  she  actually  made  the  Parrot 
cook  the  food  himself !  Perhaps  that  was  her  way  of 
rebuking  her  friend  for  his  laziness. 

Next  day  the  turn  came  to  the  Parrot.  He  procured 
o 


190  The  Cat  and  the   Parrot 

about  thirty  pounds  of  flour,  and  plenty  of  butter,  and 
everything  else  that  was  needed,  and  cooked  the  food 
before  his  guest  came.  He  made  enough  cakes  to  fill 
a  washerwoman's  basket — about  five  hundred. 

When  the  Cat  came,  the  Parrot  put  before  her  four 
hundred  and  ninety-eight  cakes,  in  a  heap,  and  kept 
back  for  himself  only  two.  The  Cat  ate  up  the  four 
hundred  and  ninety-eight  cakes  in  about  three  minutes, 
and  then  asked  for  more. 

The  Parrot  set  before  her  the  two  cakes  he  had  kept 
for  himself.  The  Cat  devoured  them,  and  then  asked 
for  more. 

The  Parrot  said,  "  I  have  no  more  cakes,  but  if  you 
are  still  hungry,  you  may  eat  me." 

The  Cat  was  still  hungry,  and  ate  the  Parrot,  bones 
and  beak  and  feathers.  Thus  the  tables  were  turned  ; 
for  if  the  Parrot  had  the  best  of  it  before,  the  Cat  had 
the  best  of  it  now. 

An  old  woman  happened  to  be  near,  and  saw  this, 
So  she  picked  up  a  stone,  and  said — 

"Shoo!  shoo!  get  away,  or  I'll  kill  you  with  this 
stone." 

Now  the  Cat  thought  to  herself,  "  I  ate  a  basketful 
of  cakes,  I  ate  my  friend  the  Parrot,  and  shall  I  blush 
to  eat  this  old  hag?" 

No,  surely  not.     The  Cat  devoured  the  old  Woman. 

The  Cat  went  along  the  road  and  perceived  a  Washer- 
man with  a  donkey.  He  said,  "O  Cat,  get  away,  or  my 
donkey  shall  kick  you  to  death  ! " 

Thought  the  Cat,  "  I  ate  a  basketful  of  cakes,  I  ate 
my  friend  the  Parrot,  I  ate  the  abusive  old  Woman,  and 
shall  I  blush  to  eat  a  Washerman  ?  " 


The  Cat  and  the  Parrot  191 

No,  surely  not.     The  Cat  devoured  the  Washerman. 
The  Cat  next  met  the  wedding  procession  of  a  King  : 
a  column  of  soldiers,  and  a  row  of  fine  elephants  two 


and  two.      The  King  said,  "O  Cat,  get  away,  or   my 
elephants  will  trample  you  to  death." 

Thought  the  Cat,  "  I  ate  a  basketful  of  cakes,  I  ate 
my  friend  the  Parrot,  I  ate  the  abusive  old  Woman,  I  ate 
the  Washerman  and  his  donkey,  and  shall  I  blush  to  eat 
a  beggarly  King  ?  " 


192  The  Cat  and  the  Parrot 

No,  surely  not.  The  Cat  devoured  the  King,  and  his 
procession,  and  his  elephants  too. 

Then  the  Cat  went  on  until  she  met  a  pair  of 
Landcrabs.  "  Run  away,  run  away,  Pussycat ! "  said 
the  Landcrabs,  "  or  we  will  nip  you  ! " 

"  Ha  !  ha  !  ha  ! "  laughed  the  Cat,  shaking  her  sides 
(fat  enough  they  were  by  this  time),  "  I  ate  a  basketful 
of  cakes,  I  ate  my  friend  the  Parrot,  I  ate  an  abusive 
old  Woman,  I  ate  the  Washerman  and  his  donkey,  I  ate 
the  King  and  all  his  elephants,  and  shall  I  run  away 
from  a  Landcrab  ?  Not  so,  but  I  will  eat  the  Landcrab 
too!"  So  saying,  she  pounced  upon  the  Landcrabs. 
Gobble,  gobble,  slip,  slop  :  in  two  swallows  the  Landcrabs 
went  down  the  Cat's  gullet. 

But  although  the  Landcrabs  slid  down  the  Cat's 
gullet  easily  enough,  you  must  know  that  they  are  hard 
creatures,  too  hard  for  a  Cat  to  bite ;  so  they  took 
no  harm  at  all.  They  found  themselves  amongst  a 
crowd  of  creatures.  There  was  the  King,  sitting  with 
his  head  on  his  hands,  very  unhappy;  there  was  the 
King's  newly-wed  bride  in  a  dead  faint ;  there  was  a 
company  of  soldiers,  trying  to  form  fours,  but  rather 
muddled  in  mind ;  there  was  a  herd  of  elephants, 
trumpeting  loudly ;  there  was  a  donkey  braying  and  the 
Washerman  beating  the  donkey  with  a  stick ;  there  was 
the  Parrot,  whetting  his  beak  on  his  own  claws ;  then 
there  was  the  old  Woman  abusing  them  all  roundly  ;  and 
last  of  all,  five  hundred  cakes  neatly  piled  in  a  corner. 
The  Landcrabs  ran  round  to  see  what  they  could  find  ; 
and  they  found  that  the  inside  of  the  Cat  was  quite 
soft.  They  could  not  see  anything  at  all,  except  by 
flashes,   when    the    Cat    opened    her    mouth,    but    they 


The  Cat  and  the  Parrot 


193 


could  feel.      So    they    opened    their    claws,    and    nip  ! 
nip  !  nip  ! 

"  Miaw  ! ''  squealed  the  Cat. 

Then  came  another  nip,  and  another  great  Miaw  ! 

The  Landcrabs  went  on  nipping,  until  they  had  nipped 

a  big  round  hole  in  the  side  of  the  Cat.     By  this  time  the 

Cat  was  lying  down,  in  great  pain  ;  and  as  the  hole  was 

very  big,  out  walked  the  Landcrabs,  and  scuttled  away. 

Then  out  walked  the  King,  carrying  his  bride  ;  and  out 

walked   the   elephants,   two  and   two  ;   out   walked  the 

soldiers,  who  had  succeeded  in  forming  fours-right,  by 

your  left,  quick  march  !  out  walked  the  donkey,  with 

the  Washerman  driving  him  along ;  out  walked  the  old 

Woman,  giving  the  Cat  a  piece  of  her  mind  ;  and  last 

of  all,  out  walked  the  Parrot,  with  a  cake  in  each 

claw.     Then  they  all  went  about  their  business, 

as  if  nothing  had  happened  ;  and  the 

Parrot   flew   back  to  whet   his 

beak  on  the  branch  of  the 

mango-tree. 


Notes 


Notes 


I. — The  Talking  Thrush 

Told  by  KAsHi  PrasAd,  village  school,  Bhingd,  district 
Bahraich,  Oudh. 

Man  sows  cotton-seeds  in  garden — Phudki  bird  sees  him — 
Makes  her  nest  of  the  cotton — Goes  to  a  Behana,  and  says, 
"  If  I  bring  you  cotton,  will  you  card  it,  and  give  me  half, 
keeping  half  yourself?  " — He  does  so — "  Now  make  it  into  balls  " 
(Piuni) — Does  so  on  the  same  terms — A  Kori  spins  thread  on 
the  same  terms — And  weaves  it  into  cloth — Similarly  a  tailor 
makes  it  into  clothes — She  flies  to  court  and  sits  on  a  peg — Says 
the  King,  "Give  me  your  suit" — She  does  so,  and  says,  "The 
King  covets  my  suit " — "  Come  here,  and  I  will  return  it " — She 
comes,  and  he  catches  her — "I  will  cut  you  in  pieces" — "The 
King  will  cut  me  in  pieces  to-day" — He  cuts  her  up  and  tells 
his  servant  to  wash  them — "To-day  the  King  is  washing  and 
cleaning  " — Puts  her  in  a  pan  of  oil — "  To-day  the  King  is  frying 
me  in  oil " — Eats  her — "  I  shall  go  into  the  King's  stomach  " — 
The  Bird  puts  out  its  head — Two  soldiers  attempt  to  cut  it  off> 
and  mutilate  the  King  so  that  he  dies. 

The  motif  is  much  the  same  as  in  No.  2  of  the  collection. 
The  pieces  of  the  Thrush  speak  like  the  fish  in  the  tale  of  the 
"Fisherman  and  the  Jinni "  (Burton,  "Arabian  Nights,"  Library 
Edition,  I.  59). 

197 


198  Notes 

2. — The  Rabbit  and  the  Monkey- 
Told  by  Dankhah  Rabha,  in  the  Bhutan  Hills.     Taken  without 
essential    change   from    North   Indian    Notes   and   Queries^ 
iv.  §  465. 


3. — The  Sparrow's  Revenge 

Told  by  Shin  SahAi,  teacher  of  the  village  school  of  Dayarhi 
Chakeri,  Etah  District.  Another  version  of  the  Podna  and 
the  Podni,  N.I.A\Q.  iii.  83.  Compare  the  Valiant  Black- 
bird^ No.  28  below. 

Hen  Sparrow  tells  her  husband  to  go  into  the  jungle  and 
fetch  firewood  to  cook  klur  (rice  milk) — A  Chamdr  kills  him — 
Hen  makes  carriage  of  straw,  yokes  two  rats  to  it,  and  drives  off 
to  take  vengeance — Meets  a  Wolf — "  Where  are  you  going  ?  "— 
"  To  take  vengeance  on  the  Chamar  who  killed  my  husband  "— 
"  May  I  help  ?  " — "  It  will  be  kind  " — Meets  a  Snake,  who  salutes 
her  with,  "  Ram  !  Ram  !  Whither  away  ?  " — Replies  as  before,  and 
same  thing  happens — So  with  a  Scorpion — They  arrive  at  the 
house  of  the  Chamar— Wolf  hides  near  the  river — Snake  under 
pile  of  cow-dung  fuel — Scorpion  under  the  lamp — The  Sparrow 
flies  up  to  the  eaves  and  twitters — Out  comes  Chamar — Says 
she,  "  A  friend  awaits  you  near  the  river."  To  the  river  he  goes 
— Wolf  seizes  him — His  wife  goes  to  the  heap  for  fuel — Snake 
bites  her — She  calls  to  her  son,  "  Bring  the  lamp " — Scorpion 
stings  him — They  all  die — Hen  Sparrow  gets  another  mate,  and 
lives  happily  ever  after. 

It  is  part  of  the  Faithful  Animal  cycle  (Temple,  "  Wide-awake 
Stories,"  412;  Clouston,  "Popular  Tales  and  Fictions,"  i.  223 
seqq.).  This  form  of  tale,  in  which  the  weaker  animal  gets  the 
better  of  its  more  powerful  oppressor,  is  common  in  Indian  folk- 
lore.    Compare  No.  i  of  this  collection. 


Notes  199 

4. — The  Judgment  of  the  Jackal 

Told  by  Shiudan  Chamar,  of  Chaukiya,  Mirzapur. 
NJ.N.Q.  iii.  101. 

Merchant  puts  up  at  house  of  Oilman — Oilman  ties  the 
horse  to  his  mill — Next  morning  Merchant  asks  for  it — He 
replies,  "  It  has  run  away  !  " — "  But  what  is  that  horse  ?  " — "  My 
mill  gave  birth  to  it  in  the  night" — Appeal  to  Siyar  Panre,  the 
Jackal — "  Go  back  and  I  will  come  " — He  bathes  in  a  tank — 
Delay — They  seek  him,  and  find  him  sitting  by  the  tank — 
"Why  did  you  delay?" — "Too  busy;  the  tank  caught  fire, 
and  I  have  just  put  it  out " — "  You  are  mad ;  who  ever  heard 
of  a  tank  on  fire  ? " — Who  ever  heard  of  a  mill  bearing  a 
foal  ?  " — Oilman  returns  horse. 

A  parallel  may  be  found  in  the  Buddhist  yj/rt/^a,  No.  219 
(Cambridge  translation,  ii.  129),  another  Version  from  the 
Frontier  in  Swynnerton's  "  Indian  Nights'  Entertainment," 
p.  142.  Compare  Stumme,  Tunisische  Miirchen,  vol.  ii..  Story 
of  an  Oilman. 


5. — How  the   Mouse  got  into   his  Hole 

Told  by  BiSRAM  Banya  and  recorded  by  Maharaj  Sink, 
teacher  of  the  school  at  Akbarpur,  Faizabad  district. 


6. — King  Solomon  and  the  Owl 

Told  by  MuNSHf  Chhot^  KhAn,  teacher  of  the  village  school 
at  Ant,  District  Sitapur,  Oudh. 

[A  new  legend  of  the  Fall.] 

Solomon  hunts  alone — An  Owl  asks  him  to  receive  him — 
Solomon  asks,  "  Why  do  you  hoot  all  night  ?  " — "  To  wake  men 


200  Notes 

and  women  early  for  prayer :  travelling  is  difficult,  for  treasure  is 
dearer  than  life  " — "  Why  do  you  shake  your  head  ?  " — "  To  re- 
mind mankind  that  the  world  is  but  a  fleeting  show,  and  to  show 
my  disapproval  of  their  delight  in  worldly  things" — "Why  do 
you  eat  no  grain  ?  " — '■^  Adam  ate  wheat  in  heaven,  and  was  turned 
out  of  it  on  that  account.  Adam  prayed,  and  God  sent  him  into 
the  world,  and  blessed  him  to  be  the  father  of  mankind.  If  I 
eat  one  grain  I  expect  to  be  cast  into  hell " — "  Why  do  you  drink 
no  water  in  the  world  at  night?" — "Because  Noah's  race  was 
drowned  in  this  world  in  water.  If  I  drink,  it  would  be  hard  for 
me  to  live  " — Solomon  is  pleased,  and  asks  the  Owl  to  remain 
with  him,  and  advise  him  on  all  points. 

There  is  no  verse  in  the  original. 

All  through  the  eastern  world  the  owl,  from  its  association 
with  graveyards  and  old  ruins,  is  regarded  as  a  mystic  bird,  in- 
vested with  powers  of  prophecy  and  wisdom  (Crooke,  "  Popular 
Religion  and  Folk-lore  of  Northern  India,''  i.  279). 


7. — The  Camel's  Neck 

Told  by  Bachau,  a  Kasera,  or  brassfounder,  of  Mirz^pur, 
North-West  Provinces. 

Camel  practises  austerities — Bhagwan  is  pleased,  and  appears 
to  him — "  Who  are  you  ?  " — "  Lord  of  the  Three  Regions  " — 
"Show  me  your  proper  form" — Bhagwdn  appears  in  his  four- 
handed  form  (Chaturbhuji) — Camel  does  reverence — "  Ask  a 
boon" — "Let  my  neck  be  a  yojan  long" — "Be  it  so" — The 
neck  becomes  eight  miles  long — He  can  now  graze  within 
a  radius  of  four  miles  {sic) — It  rains — He  puts  his  neck  in  a 
cave — A  pair  of  Jackals  eat  his  flesh — The  Camel  dies — A  wise 
man  says — 

"  Alas  dokh  mahan  dekhyo  phal  kaisa  bhaya  ; 
Ydten  lint  ajan,  maran  lagyo  nij  karm  se." 

"  Idleness  is  a  great  fault :  see  what  was  the  result  of  idleness. 
By  this  the  foolish  Camel  died,  simply  owing  to  his  own  deeds." 


Notes  20 1 

This  is  one  of  the  very  common  cycle  of  tales  where  the  fool 
comes  to  ruin  in  consequence  of  a  stupid  wish.  In  the  "  Book 
of  Sindibad,"  it  appears  as  the  "  Peri  and  the  Religious  Man  " 
(Clouston,  "Book  of  Sindibad,"  71);  La  Fontaine  has  adopted 
it  as  the  "Three  Wishes,"  and  Prior  as  "The  Ladle."  The 
Italian  version  will  be  found  in  Crane,  "  Italian  Popular  Tales," 
221.     The  four-hand  god  is  Vishnu  in  his  form  as  Chaturbhuja, 


8. — The  Quail  and  the  Fowler 

Told  by  Rameswar-Puri,  a  wandering  religious  beggar 
of  Kharwa,  District  Mirzapur. 

Fowler  catches  a  Quail — "  I'll  teach  you  three  things,  and 
if  you  free  me  I'll  teach  you  a  fourth:  (i)  Never  set  free  what 
you  have  caught;  (2)  What  seems  to  you  untrue  you  need 
not  believe ;  (3)  What  is  past  you  should  not  trouble  about  "— 
He  sets  the  Quail  free — Says  the  Quail,  "  I  have  in  my  stomach 
a  gem  weighing  i;^  seers,  and  worth  lakhs  of  rupees;  had  you 
not  let  me  go  you  would  have  that  gem" — Fowler  falls  on  the 
ground  in  misery — Says  the  Quail,  "  You  forget  my  teaching  : 
(i)  You  set  me  free;  (2)  You  did  not  ask  how  a  body  so 
light  could  contain  such  a  gem ;  (3)  You  are  troubled  about 
what  is  past" — Flies  away — Fowler  returns  home  a  \viser  man. 

Compare  the  "Laughable  Stories  of  Bar-Hebraeus,"  E.  A. 
W.  Budge  (Luzac,  1897),  No.  382,  where  a  Sparrow  acts  as  this 
Quail  does.  See  also  the  "Three  Counsels  worth  Money"  in 
No.  485. 

9. — The  King  of  the  Kites 

Told  by  RAm  Deo,  Brahman,  of  Mirzapur. 

Frog  and  Mouse  dispute,  each  saying  he  is  King  of  the  Kites 
— The  dispute  lasts  for  several  years — They  refer  it  to  a  Panch 
(Committee  of  Five) — The  other  three  are  Bat,  Squirrel,  Parrot — ■ 


202  Notes 

They  cannot  decide — A  small  Kite  appears — Carries  off  both 
Frog  and  Mouse,  and  eats  them — The  rest  depart — The  dispute 
does  not  arise  again. 

The  belief  that  each  species  of  bird  and  beast  has  a  king  of 
its  own  is  common.  Thus,  we  have  a  king  of  the  serpents, 
of  mice,  of  flies,  locusts,  ants,  foxes,  cats,  and  so  on  (Frazer, 
"Pausanias,"  iii.  559).     Also  see  No.  27  of  this  collection. 


10. — The  Jackal  and  the  Camel 

Told  by  Har  Prasad,  Brahman,  of  Saraya  Aghat, 
District  Etah,  N.W.P. 

Camel  grazing,  entangles  nose-string  in  a  tree — Confused  in 
mind,  appeals  to  Jackal — "  Brother,  I  will  free  you  for  one  seer  of 
flesh  "  — He  agrees — Jackal  asks  the  tongue — "  Have  you  a  wit- 
ness ?  " — Jackal  tries  all  the  beasts,  offering  half  of  all  he  gets — 
Wolf  refuses — Jackal  explains  that  the  Camel  will  die,  and  they 
will  get  all  his  body — He  then  agrees,  and  swears  it — Camel  opens 
his  mouth,  curls  back  tongue — Jackal  cannot  catch  the  tongue — 
Wolf  tries — When  the  head  is  well  in,  Camel  closes  his  jaws — 
"  O  Dada  (father),  Avhat  is  this  ? " — Says  Jackal,  "  The  result 
of  lying,"  and  runs  away — Wolf  dies. 

In  Oriental  folk-lore  the  jackal  takes  the  place  which  the  fox 
occupies  in  the  Western  world,  and  numerous  tales  are  told  of  his 
cunning.  This  fact  has  formed  the  base  of  an  argument  to  prove 
that  the  European  Beast  tales  originated  from  the  East  (Tawney, 
"Katha  Sarit  S^gara,"  ii.  28). 


II. — The  Wise  Old  Shepherd 

Told  by  MuNSHi  Fazl  KarIm  of  Mirzapur. 

A  Ndga  (Snake)  goes  out  of  his  hole  to  take  an  airing — Enters 
the  Raja's  court — All  flee  in  terror — Raja  orders  the  Snake  to  be 


Notes  203 

killed — The  Prince  kills  it — Snake's  wife  goes  in  search — Enters 
the  court  and  learns  his  fate — Vows  to  make  his  wife  also  a  widow 
— Coils  round  the  Prince's  neck  in  the  night — He  dares  not  stir — 
Queen-mother  goes  to  see  what  is  the  matter — Sees  the  Snake — 
Raja  sends  archers — They  prepare  to  shoot — Snake  pleads  fair 
reprisals,  and  asks  that  the  matter  be  decided  by  Panch — They 
find  five  Shepherds  holding  a  Panchayat — They  all  go  thither — The 
men  all  agree  that  the  Snake  is  right  except  one — He  asks  how 
many  sons  has  the  Snake — "  Seven  " — "  Then  you  must  wait  till 
the  Princess  has  three  more,  and  then  you  may  kill  him." 

There  is  a  universal  taboo  in  India  against  killing  a  snake. 
When  a  cobra  is  slain  it  is  supposed  that  its  mate  always  avenges 
its  death  (Crooke,  "  Popular  Religion  and  Folk-lore  of  Northern 
India,"  i.  226). 


12. — Beware  of  Bad  Company 

Told  by  Jagat  Kishor,  master  at  the  Government  School, 
Gonda,  Gudh. 

A  Swan  made  friends  with  a  Crow — They  fly  away  from 
Mansarowar  to  find  some  sport — Perch  on  a  pipal  tree  under 
which  a  pious  Raja  is  worshipping  his  Thakurji  (idol  of  Ram 
or  Krishna) — Crow  drops  filth  on  his  head  and  flies  away — He 
sees  the  Swan  and  shoots  it — Swan  says  : — 

"  Kak  nahiii,  ham  bans  hain, 
Man  karat  ham  has  ; 
Dhrisht  kaj;  ke  mel  son, 
Lhayo  hamaro  nds." 

("I  am  no  Crow  but  a  Swan,  dwelling  in  Man  Sardwar;  being 
friend  of  an  ignoble  Crow  I  am  destroyed.") 

The  Crow,  as  in  several  tales  in  this  collection,  is  in  Oriental 
folk-lore  the  representative  of  all  that  is  thievish  and  mis- 
chievous. 


204  Notes 

13.— The  Foolish  Wolf 

Told  by  Mahadeva  PrasAd,  pupil  of  branch  school,  Nau 
Shaharah,  District  Gonda,  Oudh. 

Wolf  and  Ass  were  friends — Played  as  described  in  text — 
Boy  sees  Wolf  running  away  from  Ass,  and  says,  "  What  a  timid 
Wolf — Says  the  Wolf,  "You  shall  rue  it,  I'll  carry  you  off 
to-day " — Boy  tells  his  mother — "  Never  mind,  he  won't  hurt 
you  " — Hides  stone  in  loin-cloth — Wolf  comes  for  him — Leaves 
him  in  his  den  for  the  morrow — Goes  to  play  with  the  Ass — 
Boy  climbs  a  tree — Wolf  finds  no  Boy — Stands  gaping  with 
perplexity — Boy  throws  stone  into  his  mouth  and  kills  him. 


14.- — Reflected  Glory- 
Told  by  MAtA  Din,  assistant  teacher,  Pili-Bhi't  district,  N.W.P. 

A  Shepherd  had  a  lame  Goat  which  he  beat — It  ran  away — 
Fearing  the  wild  beasts,  it  sat  down  beside  a  cave  where  were 
footsteps  of  a  Lion — A  Jackal  comes  up — "  Ram,  Ram,  grand- 
father !  I  have  found  food  after  many  days."  "  Ram,  Rim, 
grandson,  I  was  told  to  sit  here  by  the  owner  of  these  foot- 
prints."— "A  Lion!  if  I  eat  you,  he  will  eat  my  cubs" — He 
goes — A  Wolf  comes,  and  the  same  thing  happens — The  Lion 
comes— Says  the  Goat,  "By  the  influence  of  your  footprints 
I  have  been  safe ;  beasts  came  to  devour  me,  and  I  became 
your  man :  they  fled."  "  If  you  have  called  yourself  my  man  I 
will  not  eat  you  " — Lion  finds  an  Elephant :  "  I  have  a  lame 
Goat;  let  him  go  on  your  back  and  eat  the  young  leaves  as 
you  graze" — He  agrees,  and  the  Goat  says,  "Khoj  pakar  liyo 
baran  ko  hasti  mili  hai  ai  gaj  mastak  achclihi  charhi  ajaya  kopal 
khaya"  ("By  betaking  myself  to  the  footprints  of  the  great,  I 
have  got  an  Klephant ") — Mounting  on  the  Elephant's  head,  the 
Goat  feeds  well  on  new  leaves. 


Notes  205 

15. — The  Cat  and  the  Sparrows 

Told  by  TuLSi  Ram,  Brahman,  of  Sadabad,  Mathura  district. 
For  the  motif,  com^Sixe  Jdta/;a,  No.  333  (translation,  vol.  iii. 
p.  71). 


16. — The  Foolish   Fish 

Told  by  Hari  Chand  or  Hem  Chandi,  teacher  of  a  village 
school,  Mirzdpur  district.  A  variant  of  the  same,  told  by 
Sheo-DAn,  Chamar,  Chankiyd,  Mirzdpur  district. 

Banya  sees  Tiger  sunk  in  the  mud — Tiger  tries  him  to  release 
him — Swears  he  will  not  hurt  him  or  his  family — Banya  saves 
him — Says  Tiger,  "  Shall  I  eat  you  or  your  ox  ?  " — Banya  protests 
— Tiger  :  "  It  is  the  way  of  my  family  " — Banya  says,  "  Let  the 
Jackal  arbitrate  " — Jackal  asks  to  see  the  place  the  Tiger  was  in — 
Then  to  be  shown  exactly  how  he  was — The  Tiger  goes  in  again, 
and  the  Jackal  advises  the  man  to  go  home  and  leave  him. 

17. — The  Clever  Goat 

Recorded  by  Mata  DIn,  assistant  teacher,  Pili-Bhit  district. 

18. — A  Crow  is  a  Crow  for  Ever 

Told  and  recorded  by  Sahie  Ram,  Brahman,  of  Nardauli, 
Etah  district. 

The  verse  is  : — 

Kag  parhae  pinjra  :   parhi  gaye  charon  Ved : 
Jab  sudhi  ai  kutum  ki  rahe  dhed  ke  dhed. 

"  I  kept  my  crow  in  a  cage,  and  taught  him  all  four  Vedas  ; 
When  he  thought  of  his  family,  he  became  filthy  as  ever." 
P 


2o6  Notes 

19. — The  Grateful  Goat 

Told  by  BiKKU  Misra,  Brahman,  Achhnera  village,  Agra  district. 

Butcher  buys  a  Goat — "  Spare  my  life,  and  I  will  repay  you  " 
— He  spares  him — The  Goat  goes  into  the  forest  and  meets  a 
Jackal — "I  am  going  to  eat  you."  "Wait  till  I  get  fat  in  the 
forest."  "Good  :  look  out  for  me  when  you  come  back" — Meets  a 
Wolf — Same  thing  happens — Finds  a  temple  of  Mahadeva — In  it 
are  gold  coins — Swallows  them — Goes  to  a  flower-seller — "  Cover 
me  with  flowers  " — He  does  so,  and  the  Goat  voids  two  mohurs — 
Sets  out  to  return — Meets  the  Wolf — "  Have  you  seen  a  Goat?" 
"  No  " — Meets  the  Jackal — "  Have  you  seen  a  Goat  ?  "  "  Yes, 
some  distance  back" — Proceeds  to  the  Butcher,  and  voids  the 
rest  of  the  coins — The  Butcher  is  grateful,  and  never  kills  him  as 
long  as  he  lives. 

Agra  district.  Tales  of  animals  spitting  gold  are  common, 
as  in  Grimm's  "Three  Little  Menin  the  Wood"  ("Household  Tales," 
i.  56)  and  in  Oriental  Folk-lore  (Tawney,  "  Katha  Sarit  Sdgara," 
ii.  8,  453,  637;  Knowles,  "Folk-tales  of  Kashmir,"  p.  443). 


20.  The  Cunning  Jackal 

Told  by  Bal  Bi'r  Prasad,  teacher  of  the  school  at 
Sultanpur,  Oudh. 

A  Jackal  sees  melons  on  the  other  side  of  a  river — Sees  a 
Tortoise — "  How  are  you  and  your  family?"  "  I  am  well,  but  I 
have  no  wife."  "Why  did  you  not  tell  me?  some  people  on  the 
other  side  have  asked  me  to  find  a  match  for  their  daughter." 
"  If  you  mean  it  I  will  take  you  across  " — Takes  him  across  on 
his  back — When  the  melons  are  over  the  Jackal  dresses  up  a 
jhau-tree  as  a  bride — "There  is  your  bride,  but  she  is  too 
modest  to  speak  till  I  am  gone  "—Tortoise  carries  him  back — 
Calls  to  the  stump — No  answer — Goes  up  and  touches  it — Finds  it 


Notes  207 

is  a  tree — Vows  revenge — As  Jackal  drinks,  catches  his  leg — "  You 
fool,  you  have  got  hold  of  a  stump  by  mistake ;  see,  here  is  my 
leg,"  pointing  to  a  stump — Tortoise  leaves  hold — Jackal  escapes 
— Tortoise  goes  to  Jackal's  den — Jackal  returns  and  sees  the 
footprints  leading  into  the  den — Piles  dry  leaves  at  the  mouth, 
and  fires  them — Tortoise  expires. 

This  is  an  unpublished  variant  of  the  "  Jackal  and  the  Croco- 
dile" (Temple,  "Wide-awake  Stories,"  243). 


21. — The  Farmer's  Ass 

Told  by  RAm  Sinh,  Haidar-Garh,  district  Barau  Banki. 

A  AVasherman  has  an  Ass  that  brays  on  hearing  a  conch- 
shell,  thinks  he  must  have  been  a  saint  in  a  former  life,  but 
something  went  wrong  (kahin  chuk  gaya)  and  he  became  an 
Ass — Names  him  Tulsi  Das — Ass  dies — "  He  was  valuable  to 
me,"  shaves  head,  performs  obsequies,  gives  feast  to  clansmen 
— Goes  to  shop  of  a  Banya — "Why  are  you  in  mourning?" 
"  Tulsi  Das,  who  was  a  great  saint,  is  dead  " — Banya  shaves,  too 
— Raja's  sepoy  asks  him  why — "  Tulsi  Das  is  dead  " — Shaves, 
too — Comrades  ask  why — Same  thing — Same  with  the  chief  of  the 
sepoys — The  minister,  the  raja,  all  shave — Queen  asks  why — Raja 
tells  her — "But  who  is  Tulsi  Das?"  "A  friend  of  the  minis- 
ter's"— So  the  report  is  traced  back  to  the  Washerman,  who 
says,  "  He  was  my  Ass." 

N.I.N.Q.,  iii.  §  104,  gives  the  same  tale  about  an  ass  named 
Sobhan  (beautiful) :  told  by  Shyam  Sundar,  village  accountant 
of  Dudhi,  Mirzapur  district,  recorded  by  Ahmad  UUah.  Compare 
Temple's  "  Wide-awake  Stories,"  '  The  Death  and  Burial  of  poor 
Hen  Sparrow;'  Lady  Burton's  "Arabian  Nights,"  iii.  228,  'The 
Unwise  Schoolmaster  who  fell  in  Love  by  Report ; '  Jacob's 
"English  Fairy  Tales,"  'Tetty  Mouse  and  Tatty  Mouse,'  and 
tiote,  p.  234. 


2o8  Notes 

22. — The  Parrot  Judge 

Told  by  Makund  LAl,  Mirzapur. 

A  Bird-catcher  had  a  Parrot  which  knew  only  two  words, 
Beshak  (undoubtedly)  and  Cheshak  (what  doubt) — Took  it  to 
market,  and  gave  out  that  it  knew  Persian,  price  5  lakhs  of 
rupees — Nobleman  asks  it,  "  Do  you  know  Persian  ?  " — "  Che- 
shak " — Buys  it — Puts  it  in  a  gold  cage,  and  gives  it  good  food — 
King  one  day  began  to  talk  to  the  Parrot  in  Persian — It  could 
say  nothing  but  these  two  words — The  owner  threw  it  on  the 
ground  and  killed  it. 


23. — The  Frog  and  the  Snake 

Told  by  Akbar  ShAh,  Manjhi,  one  of  the  jungle-folk  of  Manbasa, 
Dudhi,  Mirzapur,  and  recorded  by  Pandit  Ramgharfb 
Chaube.     N.J.N.Q.,  iii.  §101. 

No  change.     The  King  of  the  Snakes  is  Vdsuki  Ndga. 


24. — Little  Miss  Mouse 

Told  by  Akbar  ShAh,  Manjhi,  of  Manbasa,  Dudhi, 
Mirzapur.     N.I.N.Q.,  iv.  §  19. 

No  change  in  first  part.  The  music-shop  is  in  the  original 
the  house  of  the  Chamar  (a  caste  of  labourers  and  leather- 
workers),  who  gives  a  drum,  which  is  broken  by  a  woman 
husking  rice,  who  strikes  it  with  a  pestle.  The  crop  in  the  last 
scene  is  rice. 


Notes  209 

25. — The  Jackal  that  Lost  his  Tail 

Told  by  Parmanand  TiwAri,  student,  Anglo-Sanskrit  School, 
Mirzapur.     N.I.N.Q.,  iv.  §  17, 

A  Kurmi  (one  of  the  agricultural  tribes)  used  to  go  to  his 
field — At  noon  his  wife  brought  the  dinner — Meets  Jackal,  and 
all  falls  out  as  in  tale  till  the  tail  is  cut  off — Jackal  returns  and 
finds  wife  gathering  cow-dung — "Your  son  {sic)  has  cut  off 
my  tail,  and  I  must  bite  you."  "  He  is  dead,  come  to  the 
funeral  feast  ? " — He  and  his  friends  come — "  To  prevent  you 
squabbling,  let  me  tie  you  up  " — Ties  them  to  the  cattle  pegs, 
tailless  Jackal  with  specially  strong  chain — Kurmi  comes  out 
with  bludgeon — They  break  their  ropes  and  flee,  all  but  tailless 
Jackal,  which  Kurmi  kills. 

This  is  connected  with  the  ^Esopian  fable  of  "  The  Fox  who 
Lost  his  Tail." 

26. — The  Wily  Tortoise 

Told  by  Brij  Mohan  Lal,  second  master.  High  School,  Mani- 
puri,  N.W.P.     The  bird  is  a  Hansa.     iVJ.N.Q.,  iii.  §  295. 


27. — The  King  of  the  Mice 

Told  and  recorded  by  Babu  Gandharab  Sinh,  of  Etah, 

Kingdom  of  Mice — Mouse  King  and  Fox  Wazir — All  animals 
of  forest  did  homage — Caravan  passed — Camel  left  behind — Eats 
the  Mouse  King's  garden — Fox  brings  him  in — Mocks  the  King 
— Nose-string  gets  entangled — King  says  he  is  served  right — He 
begs  release  and  promises  service — Mouse  gnaws  string — Camel 
serves  him — Woodcutters  find  Camel  and  take  him — King  sends 
to  fetch  them — Demands  his  Camel — The  Woodcutters  tell  their 
King — He  refuses — King  of  Mice  collects  armies  and  burrows 


2IO  Notes 

under  Woodcutter's  treasury  —  Brings  all  the  money  out  in 
charge  of  a  dc^tachment  of  Mice — Wise  man  sees  it — Covets  the 
money — Old  Mouse  says,  "Why  do  you  covet?  our  King  will 
give  you  service  " — Goes  to  the  King — The  King  bids  him  fetch 
more  of  his  brethren — With  these  the  Mouse  King  invades  the 
realm  of  Woodcutters — Mice  undermine  the  walls  of  the  enemy's 
fort — Woodcutters'  army  flee — King  of  Mice  gets  back  his  Camel, 
and  makes  the  Woodcutter  King  his  vassal. 

(The  episode  of  the  wise  man  seems  to  be  interpolated,  as 
the  men  play  no  part  in  the  attack.) 

Another  version  in  N.I.N.Q.,  iii.  §  292,  told  by  ThAkur 
UmrAo  Sink  of  Sonhdr,  Etah  district,  N.W.P.  For  Kings  of 
Animals,  compare  No.  9  of  this  book. 


28. — The  Valiant  Blackbird 

Told  by  WazIran,  a  Mohammedan  servant  of  Mirzapur,  and 
recorded  by  Mirza  Muhammad  Beg. 

A  Podna  (weaver  bird)  and  his  mate  lived  in  a  tree — The  Raja 
catches  the  wife — Podna  builds  carts  of  reeds,  yokes  pairs  of  frogs, 
makes  kettle-drum,  armed  with  piece  of  reed,  sets  out  drumming 
— Meets  a  Cat — "  Where  are  you  going  ?  "  "  Sarkande  ki  to  gari, 
do  mendak  jote  jaen,  Raja  mari  Podni,  ham  bair  bisahne  jaen  " 
("  My  carriage  is  of  reed  with  two  frogs  yoked  thereto ;  the  King 
has  seized  my  Podni ;  I  go  to  take  my  revenge  ").  "  May  I  go 
with  you  ?  "  "  Get  into  my  car  " — Meets  in  same  way  Ants,  Rope 
and  Club,  River — Drives  into  King's  courtyard  and  demands 
Podni — King  orders  him  to  be  shut  in  henhouse — "  Nikal  billi, 
teri  ban.  Kdn  chhor,  kanpati  mdri"  ("Come  out,  Cat,  your  turn 
now  :  come  out  of  my  ear  and  hit  them  on  the  head  ") — Cat  comes 
out  and  kills  fowls — Next  night  shut  in  stable — "  Niklo  rassi,  aur 
sonte  tumhari  bari.  Kan  chhor,  kanpati  mari " — Rope  ties  horses 
and  Club  kills  them — Next  night  shut  in  with  elephants — "  Niklo 
chiunti  tumhari  bdri.  Kan  chhor,  kanpati  mari " — Ants  run  up 
trunks  and  sting  their  brains — Next  night  tied  to  the  Raja's  bed 


Notes  211 

— "  Niklo  darya  teri  bdri.  Kin  chhor,  kanpati  miri " — River 
begins  to  drown  King  and  bed — "  For  God's  sake,  take  your 
wife  and  go." 

Here,  as  in  other  tales  of  this  collection,  we  have  the  incident 
of  the  Helping  Animals,  for  which  see  Tawney,  "  Katha  Sarit 
Sagara,"  ii.  103,  596;  Crooke,  "Popular  Religion  and  Folk-lore 
of  Northern  India,"  ii.  202.     See  N.I.iV.Q.,  iii.  §  173. 


29. — The  Goat  and  the  Hog 

Told  by  SuRAj  Singh,  assistant  master  of  the  Kandhla  school, 
district  Muzafarnagar,  N.W.P.     See  N.I.N.Q.,  iv.  §  430. 

Goat  and  Hog  friends — Goat  goes  to  seek  his  fortune — Enters 
shop  of  a  Banya — Eats  all  he  can  find — Goes  into  inner  room — 
Banya  returns — Little  girl  cries  for  sugar — Goes  in  to  get  some- 
Goat  says,  "  Ek  sing  anrur  ganrur ;  dusri  sing  meri,  soni  mar- 
hawal.  Banya  beti  awo  nahin,  dhenruki  phoron  "  ("  One  of  my 
horns  is  twisted,  one  is  gilt  with  gold.  Don't  come  in,  Banya 
girl,  or  I  will  tear  your  stomach  open  ") — Runs  out — Father  sends 
for  the  Kotwal — Same  thing — Prays  to  him — Goat  comes  out : 
"  I  want  sweetmeats,  ornaments  for  my  head,  neck,  feet,  horns, 
tail"— Gives  them,  putting  on  all  the  jewels  he  has  in  pawn — 
Goat  shows  all  this  to  the  Hog — Hog  goes  to  try  his  luck — Knew 
no  verses — No  one  frightened — Banya  drives  him  out  with  stick 
and  dogs. 

30. — The  Parrot  and  the   Parson 

Told  by  Bachau  Kasera,  INIirzapur.     N.I.N.Q.,  v.  §  72. 

Banker  taught  his  parrot  to  speak- — A  Sadhu  passed  by — Quoth 
Parrot,  "  Salaam,  Maharaj,  how  can  I  get  out  ?  "  "  Let  me  ask  my 
Guru" — Guru  when  asked  swooned — Sadhu  told  Parrot  what 
had  happened,  and  apologised  for  not  being  able  to  help — "  I 
understand,"  says  Parrot — Feigns  death — Cage  opened. 


212  Notes 

31. — The  Lion  and  the  Hare 
Told  by  SuRYABALi,  Mirzapur. 
No  change.     The  verse  is  : — 

Bind  bucllii  ke  bagh  bildna  : 
Kharha  san  kahiin  bagh  niarana. 

32. — The  Monkey's  Bargains 

Told  and  recorded  by  Rameswar-Puri,  teacher,  Khairwa 
village  school,  district  Mirzipur. 

The  Story  of  Gangd.  Burhi  (name  of  the  old  woman).  No 
change  in  the  incidents,  except  that  the  cowherd  is  grinding 
corn,  and  the  last  sentence  is  added.     The  verses  are : — 

Wah,  jangle  men  se  lakari  laya, 
Wah,  lakari  main  burhya  ko  dinh, 
Burhiya  monkon  roti  dinh, 
Wah  rotiya  main  tokon  dinh 
5  Kya  tun  mokon  mataki  na  degd  ? 

"  Hullo  !  I  brought  fuel  from  the  forest.  (2)  I  gave  it  to 
the  old  woman.  (3)  The  old  woman  gave  me  cake.  (4)  I 
gave  that  cake  to  thee.     (5)  Wilt  not  thou  give  me  jugs?" 

4  U  roti  main  kohra  ko  dinh, 
Kohra  monkon  metuki  dinh, 
U  metuki  main  tokon  dinh, 
Kya  tu  mujhko  makkhan  na  dega? 

"I  gave  that  cake  to  the  Potter.  (5)  The  Potter  gave  me 
an  earthen  vessel.  (6)  I  gave  that  earthen  vessel  to  thee. 
(7)  Wilt  not  thou  give  me  butter?" 

4  Wah  roti  main  kumhara  ko  dinh, 
Kumhara  monkon  metuki  dinh, 
Wah  metuki  main  gwalin  ko  dinh 
Gwalin  monkon  londi  dinh, 
Wah  londi  main  tokon  dinh, 
Kya  tu  monkdn  ek  bail  bhi  na  dega  ? 


Notes  213 

"(6)  I  gave  that  earthen  vessel  to  the  cowherd's  wife. 
(7)  The  cowherd's  wife  gave  me  a  lump  of  butter.  (8)  I  gave 
that  lump  to  thee.     (9)  Wilt  not  thou  give  me  an  Ox  ?  " 

The  others  are  not  given,  except  the  last  lines : — 

Baj  meri  dholaki  dtiamak  dhiln  ; 
Rani  ke  badle  ai  tun. 

"  O  my  drum,  make  sounds  like  dhdmak  dhun :  thou  art 
come  in  exchange  for  a  Queen." 


33. — The  Monkey's  Rebuke 

Told  and  recorded  by  LalA  BHAwANf  Din,  teacher  of  Majhgdon 
district  Hamirpur. 

A  Banya  sold  milk  mixed  with  water — Earns  1 00  rupees — Sets 
out  for  home — Stops  to  wash  at  a  tank — Lays  the  bag  down — 
Monkey  takes  the  bag  up  a  tree — Drops  50  rupees  in  the  tank — 
Throws  down  the  bag  to  the  man — "You  sold  half  water  and 
half  milk :  therefore  I  have  thrown  half  your  money  into  this 
tank  " — Banya  goes  home  a  better  man. 


34. — The  Bull  and  the  Bullfinch 

Told  by  Pandit  Jagannath  Prasad,  master  of  Mardri  Kaldn 
village  school,  and  recorded  by  Pandit  Madhuban,  second 
master  of  the  same.  Undo  district,  Oudh. 

Khusat  Bird  and  Bull — The  rest  as  in  the  story,  save  that 
"the  Almighty  King  of  the  Universe"  promises  his  help  to 
the  Lion — Bull  tells  Bird — Bird  says,  "  Did  not  I  warn  you  ? 
still  I  will  help " — Tells  him  that  he  has  dreamt  a  marriage  has 
been  arranged  for  himself  with  Mahadeva's  spouse — They  apply 
to  Mahadeva  for  explanation — Mahadeva  thinks,  "  If  I  say  visions 
are  real  things,  this  Bird  will  claim  my  wife" — So  says,  "Dreams 
go  by  contraries  :  go  home  and  don't  be  foolish." 

See  the  value  of  friendship. 


214  Notes 


35. — The  Swan  and  the  Crow 

Told  by  LAla  Shankar  Lal,  village  accountant,  and  recorded 
by  Changan  Sink,  master  of  the  school  at  Chamkari,  Etah 
district,  N.W.P. 

No  change,  except  Wazir  for  Judge  and  Gayd  for  Jerusalem. 
The  Judge  is  a  Hindu,  and  the  Crow  promises  to  take  his  father's 
bones  to  the  sacred  city  of  Gaya,  in  Bengal. 


36. — Pride  shall  have  a  Fall 

Told  by  Akbar  Shah,  Mdnjhi,  one  of  the  jungle-folk  of 
Manbasa,  district  Mirzapur. 

No  change.  The  animal  with  one  eye  is  supposed  to  be 
cunning  and  uncanny  (Crooke,  "  Popular  Religion  and  Folk- 
lore of  Northern  India,"  ii.  37,  51).  Compare  No.  37  of  this 
collection. 


37. — The  Kid  and  the  Tiger 

Told  by  Akbar  Shah,  IManjhi,  and  recorded  by  Pandit  Ram- 
gharIb  Chaub^.  a  favourite  nursery  tale  of  the  Kharwars 
of  Mirzapur. 

Tigress  and  She-goat  "great  friends — Tigress  has  two  cubs,  Goat 
four  kids  named  Khurbhur,  Muddil,  Goddil,  and  Nathil — Tigress 
thinks  :  "  It  is  hard  that  I  have  only  two,  and  the  Goat  has  four : 
suppose  I  eat  two  of  hers  to  make  things  even  " — Asks  the  Goat 
to  let  one  kid  sleep  with  her — Only  Khurbhur  consents — Khurbhur 
puts  one  of  her  cubs  in  his  place— She  eats  it — Puts  a  stone  in 
his  place — She  breaks  her  teeth — One-eyed  Tiger  calls— Tells  a 
"  story  "  :  "  When  I  eat  goats,  all  the  four  kids  are  one  mouthful  " 
— Khurbhur  says,  "  When  you  come  to  eat  us,  Muddil  will  hold 


Notes  215 

your  head,  Nathil  the  fore-paws,  Goddil  the  hind-paws,  Khurbhur 
will  cut  off  your  head,  if  mother  holds  the  light " — Tiger  runs  away 
— Meets  six  more — They  go  to  Goat's  house — Khurbhur  climbs 
tree — They  jump  and  miss  him — They  climb  one  on  another, 
One-eye  at  bottom — Khurbhur  says,  "  Mother,  a  lump  of  mud  to 
throw  in  his  eye" — One-eye  jumps — They  fall — They  run  away, 
and  trouble  the  goats  no  more. 

The  one-eyed  animal  appears  in  No.  35  of  this  collection. 


38, — The  Stag,  the  Crow,  and  the  Jackal 

Told  and  recorded  by  Balbi'r  Prasad,  Brahman, 
of  Mirzdpur. 

Stag  and  Crow  are  friends — Jackal  covets  Stag — Says,  "A 
crow  is  not  a  friend  for  you  ;  choose  a  denizen  of  earth  like  me  " 
— They  become  friends — Jackal  leads  him  to  snare — Stag  is 
trapped — "  I  cannot  help  you,  because  there  is  leather  in  the 
snare,  and  it  is  the  Ekadashi  (eleventh  day  of  the  lunar  fortnight) 
when  I  fast " — Crow  advises  him  to  feign  death — He  does  so,  and 
escapes. 


39. — The  Monkey  and  the  Crows 

Told  by  Sariju  Prasad,  teacher  of  the  school  at  Subhikha, 
Bahraich  district,  Oudh. 

Crows  build  nests  in  a  cotton-tree  (sema/) — In  the  rains 
a  Monkey  arrives  soaking — Said  the  Crows,  "  We  build  nests 
with  only  a  beak  :  can  you  not  make  a  better  with  two  hands 
and  two  feet  ?  "  "  Wait  till  morning  " — Then  he  tears  down  their 
nests — "  Good  advice  given  to  a  fool  only  kindles  his  malice." 


2i6  Notes 


40. — The  Swan  and  the  Paddy-bird 

Told  by  Devi  DfN,  student,  and  recorded  by  Badari  PrasAd, 
of  the  school  at  Musanagar,  Cawnpur  district. 

No  change.  The  lake  in  the  original  is  the  famous  Mana 
Sarovar  lake  in  Tibet.  The  Swan  at  the  end  repeats  this 
couplet : — 

Bit  chhoto,  chit  saugun,  bit  men  chit  na  samae  : 
So  murak  binsat  sadan,  jirni  bakuli  nariyar  khae. 

("  Desire  is  one  thing,  capacity  is  another.  The  desire  exceeds 
the  power.  Thus  die  the  foolish,  as  did  the  Paddy-bird  when 
she  tried  to  eat  the  cocoa-nut.") 

The  Paddy-bird  is  the  Bagla,  or  Bagula,  a  sort  of  small 
heron  {Ardea  torra),  which  frequents  the  banks  of  ponds  and 
catches  little  fish  and  frogs.  In  folk-lore,  from  its  quaint  appear- 
ance, it  is  the  type  of  demure  cunning,  and  a  sanctimonious 
rogue  ascetic  is  often  compared  to  it. 

Compare  a  similar  tale  of  a  crane :  Jdtaka,  No.  236 
(Cambridge  translation,  ii.  161). 


41. — What  is  a  Man  ? 

Told  by  Shibba  Sink  Gaur,  Brahman,  resident  in 
Saharanpur,  N.W.P. 

No  change,  except  that  the  order  of  the  animals  is  Elephant, 
Camel,  Ox. 

Another  version  makes  the  man  a  carpenter — He  goes  away 
and  makes  a  cage — Induces  the  Lion  to  enter — Leaves  him  to 
starve. 

The  complaints  of  the  animals  against  men  form  the  subject 
of  a  very  amusing  Hindustani  book  derived  from  the  Persian, 
the  Akhwan-us-safa. 


Notes  217 


42. — The  Wound  and  the  Scar 

Told  by  Shaikh  Fari'd  Ahmad,  and  recorded  by  the  teacher  of 
the  village  school,  Barhauli,  district  Bahraich,  Oudh. 

No  change,  except  the  Wound  is  dealt  by  the  Woodman's 
axe,  at  the  command  of  the  Lion,  when  first  he  visits  him  after 
the  sickness.     The  verses  are — 

Samman  dhaga  prem  ka  jin  toryo  chatkay 
Jore  se  na  jurat  hai,  aut  ganth  par  jay. 


43. — The  Cat  and  the   Parrot 

Told  by  BiSESHAR  Dayal,  Banya  (or  corn-chandler),  of  Bindki, 
district  Fatehpur,  N.W.P.,  and  recorded  by  Pandit  Baldeo 
PrasAd,  teacher  of  the  Tahsili  school,  Bindki. 

No  change,  except  the  Parrot  says,  "I  am  sitting  on  the 
branch  of  a  mango-tree  and  getting  a  bill  made."  Number  of 
cakes  not  given.  And  after  meeting  the  Raja,  the  Cat  meets 
(i)  four  young  of  the  wild  cow  (Surahgaya),  which  she  eats,  and 
(2)  a  pair  of  Surahgaya,  which  fall  upon  her,  and  tear  her  stomach 
open,  when  all  those  she  has  eaten  troop  out. 

Here,  as  in  other  tales  of  this  collection,  the  Parson  is  the 
Guru  or  spiritual  adviser  of  pious  Hindus. 


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UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 
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